By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney Both Idaho law and applicable Federal Law require that an employer pay an employee for all hours worked. Sometimes it is clear what is considered on duty time. However, sometimes it is not. In Idaho, hours worked does not include: time to be spent by…
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney In Idaho, employers have a duty to protect others from the foreseeable harmful conduct of its employees. The two types of cases that are usually brought against an employer when an employee engages in intentionally harmful conduct to others are negligent hiring and negligent supervision.…
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney In Idaho the limits of using off-duty conduct in an employment decision are mostly controlled by either an employment agreement or the “at will” doctrine described above. However, some exceptions to this may still apply. Using social media as an example illustrates these narrow exceptions.…
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney Scene from the TV series The Office: Michael Scott:“Yeah, Ryan snapped at me. But there was this twinkle in his eye, that I picked up on, which said, ‘Dude, we’re friends. I’m doing this for appearances. I am the big boss now. And I have…
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney Regardless of whether there is a written employment contract, an oral employment contract or no employment contract at all, when an Employment Handbook or Policy Handbook exists, it may provide additional contractual rights either for the employer or the employee. The result is that an…
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney Federal law has made an effort to protect those who serve in our Armed Forces. Particularly, federal law concerning the employment of members of the military provides protections above those normally given to regular employees. According to the Federal Department of Labor: The employment rights…
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney Employers are often covered by federal employment laws that provide certain protections for employees. One of the laws that exist that is applicable to many employers is the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The FMLA is designed to provide certain employees with up to…
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney Recently there seems to be a trend by my estate planning clients to avoid probate at all costs. It is true that a number of my recent clients have recently moved to Idaho from other states whose laws are vastly different than Idaho’s when it…
By Joseph G. Ballstaedt In Idaho, if you leave your job voluntarily (rather than being fired), you are not eligible for unemployment benefits unless you left for “good cause connected with [your] unemployment.” The term “good cause” does not have an exact definition, and what constitutes good cause will depend…
By Joseph G. Ballstaedt In Idaho, almost every employee is an at-will employee, which means he has no contract with his employer establishing how long the employment relationship will last or limiting why he can be fired. At-will employees can be fired for almost any reason and, conversely, can quit…