Do you consider yourself a flexible boss? Do you believe that you treat your employees fair?

A few years ago, the California Chamber of Commerce released a study that stated many business owners may be violating employment laws unknowingly just by being flexible or fair.

Much of the problem with employment law arises from the fact that state laws vary enormously. The bigger issue is that some of these mistakes identified in the study were universal and are often forbidden by federal law.

Here are five laws that you probably didn’t realize you were breaking.

*The flexible lunch break

Although federal law doesn’t require workers to be given lunch or coffee breaks, certain states may require it. Giving personnel the option of skipping lunch to get out of work early is a law-breaker.

*Dismissing employees for taking a leave of absence

The law protects workers from being fired for taking family or medical leave, military leave or serving on jury duty.

*Non-compete agreements

Many companies ask their employees to sign non-compete agreements to protect business data and customer lists, and keep staff from going to the competition. Nevertheless, enforceability of non-compete clauses differs widely by state.

*Enforcing a “use it or lose it” vacation policy but failing to pay back money-owed on termination

Some states forbid “use it or lose it” vacation policies by law. Is your state one of them?

*Giving workers loans and subtracting repayments from their pay checks

You thought you were helping out, but most states don’t allow employers to deduct anything other than benefits from employees’ paychecks.

 

For any owner, knowing how to hire is just as important as knowing who to hire. Make sure you are following all of the correct employment laws in your state by contacting one of our expert attorneys.