The Last Paycheck: Avoiding the Pitfalls
By Wm. Joseph Austin, Jr. The great Western novelist Louis L’Amour penned this line, “There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning,” which in any other context would resonate with hope and anticipation. All too often, however, the last paycheck issued to a terminated employee is the beginning of conflict and controversy. …
The Indispensable Employee Handbook
By Wm. Joseph Austin, Jr. The employee handbook is an essential part of both employee relations and risk management. This paper will address how important it can be to these vitally important employer interests. No law book on the shelf requires employers to have an employee handbook as such, yet federal and state laws do require the employer to …
The “Right to Work” in an “At-Will State”
By Wm. Joseph Austin, Jr. North Carolina is both an at-will state and a Right to Work state. The two phrases are sometimes conflated and confused. Each refers to a distinct and separate legal doctrine. There is one point of intersection nevertheless that will be discussed in this paper. The at-will rule is a common law doctrine that has been …
Labor and Employment Law Scorecard
Keeping Track of Labor and Employment Laws that Apply to the Growing BusinessA guide to regulation of employment for the sole proprietor, mega-company, and all employers in betweenBy Wm. Joseph Austin, Jr. The “scratch golfer” has a zero handicap. There is no such thing as a “scratch employer.” The word “employer” itself denotes a person or business that employs at …
Employer Rights in the Regulated Employment Regime
By Wm. Joseph Austin, Jr. Q. I’m the Employer, what are my rights? A. You have the right to be sued. This dictum comes from Peter Panken, a distinguished management lawyer and frequent presenter at Labor and Employment seminars. Overstating the point to make a point, he reminds the employer to maintain the right mindset. Be aware (get familiar with …
Academic Freedom: Past and Prologue
By Wm. Joseph Austin, Jr.Of Counsel, Narron O’Hale & Whittington, P.A. “I cannot praise a cloistered and fugitive virtue”John Milton, Areopagitica “Academic Freedom” is an elusive phrase, yet liberty of expression within the academic community is vitally important to a free society. This paper will discuss several aspects of a tradition in academe that means different things to different people, …
Academic Freedom: Revival in the Fourth Circuit
By Wm. Joseph Austin, Jr. In a case that was already topical, the Fourth Circuit recently rendered an opinion that renewed the concept of Academic Freedom as legal doctrine based in the First Amendment. The case of Wood v. Arnold, 915 F.3d 308 (4th Cir. 2019), involved two statements concerning Islamic beliefs presented in a high school world history class. …
Labor and Employment Law: An Introduction
By Wm. Joseph Austin, Jr. Of Counsel, Narron Wenzel, P.A. Labor and employment law has been described as a Rubik’s Cube of federal and state statutes, regulations, and common law. The lawyer who specializes in this practice advises both employers and employees on these legal standards which are placed on the employment relation under the Rule of Law. The applicable …