Answers Posted By Neil Klingshirn

Answer to lunch breaks

Ohio does not require lunch breaks.

Hi Paul

Unfortunately, Ohio law does not limit the number of hours an employer can force you to work or require an employer to give you a lunch break. You are only entitled to overtime if you work more than 40 hours in a work week.

Regretfully,

Neil.

posted Oct 3, 2002 5:02 PM [EST]

Answer to part-time employee rights

Benefits depend on the terms of the benefit plan

Your right to benefits depends on the benefit plan. For example, if your employer provides health insurance, it almost certainly has a health insurance plan. That plan will state who is covered. Most plans cover "full time" employees, who are typically defined as employees who work, say, 35 hours or more each week for a certain number of weeks out of the year. If you fit the definition, then your employer has to provide benefits.

I suggest that you get your hands on the health insurance and other benefit plans. You have the right to ask for them and your employer has an obligation to give them to you. Once you know if you are covered under the individual plan or not you can decide whether to pursue a claim for coverage.

Best regards,

Neil.

posted Oct 3, 2002 5:00 PM [EST]

Answer to overtime pay for exempt people

It depends on how much time you spend in management duties.

Assuming that you are paid on a salaried basis and that you supervise the work of two or more employees, then you are exempt from overtime if 50% or more of your primary duties involve the management of the enterprise or of a department or subdivision of that enterprise.

If you are doing non-managerial work more than 50% of the time, you may have a substantial claim. Also, we should explore whether you are realling being paid on a salaried basis, particularly if your paycheck is showing an hourly rate.

We offer an initial consultation for a $200.00 fee. If you are interested, call Cheryl at 330.665.5445, ext. 0 and she can get you on my calendar.

Regards,

Neil.

posted Sep 27, 2002 4:29 PM [EST]

Answer to Required Overtime

Mandatory overtime

An employer can require an employee to work 24/7 with no breaks. The employer only has to pay 1 1/2 times the regular rate for overtime hours. The only exception in Ohio is for child labor, for whom the employer must provide occasional breaks and cannot under certain circumstances require to work more than 8 hours in a day.

posted Sep 27, 2002 4:25 PM [EST]

Answer to WARN ACT

You need a bankruptcy lawyer

Unless CF can prevail on the "distressed business" defense, your husband and his co-workers probably have a valid WARN claim. However, WARN allows CF employees to pursue a class action. The class would probably cover all CF employees in the U.S. I suspect that somewhere in the U.S., probably Washington, someone has or will file a class action on behalf of all CF employees, which is a suit that would probably cover your husband.

If he is in the union, check with the union, as they may also file a WARN action and would most likely know if such a suit has been filed. In other words, I am pretty sure that it will not be necessary to file a separate action in Dayton.

The problem is that CF is liquidating. A WARN claimant is an unsecured creditor in the bankruptcy action. Thus, while you may have a claim, it may not be worth anything or will be worth pennies on the dollar.

I feel for what has happened to your family. We represented a CF employee in Akron. CF was, in my opinion, a rough employer that did not have its employee's interests at heart. This filing, without any notice and despite the union's willingness to make concessions, was despicable.

I wish you the best.

Neil Klingshirn

posted Sep 10, 2002 09:26 AM [EST]

Answer to Is this retaliation?

This sounds like retaliation

If you in good faith believed that the transactions were illegal and reported your good faith belief to the Board, you engaged in protected conduct. Asking to consult with an attorney is probably protected too. At least one court has held that actually consulting an attorney is protected.

The question will be whether you were terminated for engaging in this conduct. The Director will probably trump up complaints, most likely sounding in "insubordination," which a jury would have to sort through to see if they are the real reasons or whether your protected conduct was the cause for your termination after 24 years of faithful service.

I have challenged non-profits in very similar cases and successfully negotiated severance packages. If you are in Northeast Ohio, we offer an initial consultation for $200.00. Call Cheryl, our office manager, at 330.665.5445, ext. 0 if you would like to schedule a consultation.

Regards,

Neil Klingshirn

posted Sep 9, 2002 9:20 PM [EST]

Answer to quit job with just cause. but only worked 1 week

You have to work several weeks to be eligible for unemployment benefits.

Unemployment compensation is a state benefit, with state defined requirements for eligibility. One of those requirements is that you must work for an employer a minimum amount of time. I thought it was six weeks, but it may have gone down to three. In any event, the fact that you worked less than the minimum required to be eligible for unemployment means that you cannot collect benefits, even though you were otherwise eligible because you quit for just cause.

Regards,

Neil Klingshirn

posted Aug 23, 2002 08:44 AM [EST]

Answer to What is the standard for defamation?/False accusations to avoid paying unemployment ``

Privilege and opinion are defenses to defamation

An employer is "privileged" to make a good faith response to a reference check, even if it is false. Therefore, if your former supervisor really believed that you refused a work directive (deliver the load), then he is privileged to tell another employer who called for a reference, even if he was wrong (i.e., you were allowed to refuse that directive per your agreement to be able to attend the police academy. In addition, defamation prohibits only publication of untrue facts, but not opinions. Your supervisor may be able to say that, in his opinion, you were insubordinate.

Your best bet is to tell your prospective employer yourself why you are leaving your old employer, including the part about being unfairly accused of insubordination. That will take the sting out of any bad reference and will make your former employer appear petty.

I wish you the best.

Regards,

Neil.

posted Aug 21, 2002 08:55 AM [EST]

Answer to FMLA leave and use of own sick days

FMLA and sick leave are two different benefits

The FMLA lets you take 12 weeks off from work to be with your new child without jeapordizing your job. The FMLA does not require the school district to pay you for this time off, however. You are only entitled to paid time off to the extent the school has a paid leave program.

If the school requires you to prove that you are actually "sick" in order to use up "sick leave," you probably cannot use paid sick leave during your FMLA leave. In other words, you can take the time off without placing your job in jeopardy, but you probably will not be paid during this time.

As an additional issue, note that you can take 12 weeks away from work at any time during the 12 months following the birth of your child. Therefore, you could begin your FMLA leave on the first day of school and not return for 12 weeks after that. Again, however, this time off would be unpaid.

Best regards,

Neil.

posted Aug 15, 2002 5:13 PM [EST]

Answer to overtime pay

Parts employees may be exempt from overtime

The overtime laws exempt auto dealer parts, mechanic and sales employees. To be exempt, (1) the employee must be primarily engaged in selling or servicing automobiles, trucks, or farm implements; (2) the employer must not be engaged in manufacturing; (3) the employer must be primarily engaged in selling automobiles, trucks, or farm implements to ultimate purchasers. I believe that parts people generally are considered to be covered by this.

If you would like to pursue this, call the Department of Labor's wage and hour division and ask there. You can file a complaint and request an audit of the dealership's payment practices if you think that you may be improperly classified as exempt.

Regards,

Neil.

posted Aug 9, 2002 2:31 PM [EST]