Iowa Law Blog : Iowa Lawyer & Attorney : Sullivan & Ward Law Firm : Iowa Law Blog

When an employee-employer relationship is terminated, either amicably or not, employers may be asked to provide a reference for the former employee.  Providing both positive and negative references for former employees may result in legal liability for employers.  Negative references may result in a slander or defamation action by the former employee.  False positive references or partial references may result in an action by the new employer against the former employer. 

The fear of litigation has resulted in many employers enacting a blanket policy prohibiting supervisors/managers from providing any references for any employees.  Those employers will only verify the person’s position, salary, and job duties but will not provide an assessment of that person.

Business owners will have to decide what works best for their business.  If you choose to provide references or answer inquiries, remember the Iowa Code has enacted parameters as well as protection from liability for employers: 

·        Before providing a reference a request must be made by the former employee or the prospective employer; 

·        If the former employee was discharged, a statement indicating the reasons for the discharge must be in writing; 

·        Information provided does not violate a former employee’s civil rights;

·        Employer provides information to a person with a legitimate request;

·        Employer provides information that is relevant to the inquiry;

·        Employer does not provide information with malice; and

·        Employer has a good faith belief that the information is true.

To ensure that your business follows the parameters enacted by the Iowa Code and is protected from liability get everything in writing (the request and your response); answer only the questions asked; and always be honest. When in doubt either don’t provide the reference or contact your attorney.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

While Paris Hilton may not be in the soup line anytime soon, a significant portion of her inheritance has been pledged for better use than her spending sprees:  charity.  Grandpa Hilton recently revised his estate plan to provide 97% of his wealth would go to charity.  Barron Hilton recently placed 97% of his wealth into a charitable trust to eventually pass to the Conrad Hilton Foundation.  The amount is estimated to be around $2.3 billion.

As a result of this estate planning, Barron Hilton dramatically reduced his tax bill.  While the exact structure of his charitable trust is not known, charitable trusts typically provide an immediate income tax deduction, provide a stream of income for the remainder of ones life AND reduce your federal estate taxes at your death, while at the same time benefiting charitable interests.   Doesn't that make it a win-win-win-win solution?  Not a bad idea.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

I had the opportunity to attend a presentation for Prepaid Legal Services, Inc. this weekend. I had heard about companies that have started offering either prepaid legal services and/or discounted legal services and I was interested in seeing the product that was offered.

The idea behind prepaid legal services is much like car or health insurance. You pay a monthly fee and have the ability to contact an attorney about your legal issues if and when you need to. “Legal issues” include drafting a simple will, reviewing simple contracts, making phone calls and writing letters if you have a dispute, and providing a limited number of hours for a defense in the event you are sued. Everything above and beyond that is billed at a discounted hourly rate determined by the attorney providing the services. The services are rendered by a local law firm.

The presentation makes the listener believe that he needs a lawyer for almost everything—from disputes with your dry cleaner to drafting your will. At first glance it might seem awesome to have an attorney at your disposal—much like Donald Trump or Wal-Mart. However, I’m not convinced that the common person needs an attorney for every “legal issue” that they might have. Obviously, drafting a will is something you should use an attorney for. On the other hand, many people, myself included, handle disputes with service providers and review simple contracts without the assistance of an attorney. 

A letter from an attorney might be helpful to settle a dispute with a service provider. However, if a well-written letter from you doesn’t remedy the situation, a letter from an attorney most likely won’t help either.  Furthermore, if one of your disputes is not remedied with a phone call or a letter from your attorney, the prepaid service does not cover the costs of bringing an action to enforce your rights.

In conclusion, beyond a simple will preparation, the benefit for prepaid legal services isn’t evident to me. 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

The Question of the Week posted this week got me thinking about the classification of temporary employees. Temporary workers are workers that are employed by a staffing agency which supplies workers to the client company. Temporary workers report to the client, but receive pay and benefits from the staffing agency. Temporary workers, therefore, are considered to be the employee of the staffing agency rather than the client company.

The risk of having a temp become an employee of the client company arises when the client company retains a certain amount of control over the temp. If that happens, the client company may face liability for a wide variety of employment related issues including discrimination and wage and hour violations.

How can the client company reduce the risk of having a temp become classified as an employee? The suggestions listed below are taken from “Get Smart When Using Temporary Employees” and a 2004 Iowa case, Willms v. Associated Materials Inc.

• Allow the staffing agency to communicate the rate of pay and hours to the temp;
• Require the staffing agency to perform drug testing or background checks;
• Request the staffing agency perform periodic visits to the job site;
• Differentiate the temp uniforms, badges, parking spaces, break rooms, etc. from the permanent employees’;
• Allow the staffing agency to make hiring and firing decisions as well as take disciplinary action;
• Limit the time period a temp works at the site;
• Refer to the temp as a worker who is assigned rather than an employee who is hired;
• Always have your attorney review your agreement with the agency.

In short, treat temporary employees different than your permanent employees. A client company may not be able to completely eliminate the risks of having temporary workers classified as employees, but by using some of the suggestions above the risk will be reduced.

Photo on flickr by DCvision2006

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

I recently ran across a good blog site titled "Updates in Michigan Family Law" authored by Jeane M. Hannah, a Michigan family law practitioner. In her article she refers to a new tool to help children cope with high-conflict divorce called Earthquake in Zipland. This is an interactive video game developed by a social worker.

Earthquake in Zipland is intended to unblock a child’s hidden conflicts and emotional distress and to facilitate healthy dialogue between the child (or children) and the parent to help school-age kids cope with divorce.

According to a recent American Bar Association article, the game features a superhero named Moose who must doctor his country after an earthquake has caused upheaval and chaos. Children are encouraged to perform certain tasks to move to a higher level including writing an online journal about their feelings. As noted by Ms. Hannah, the goal is to help children understand and accept that “even a superhero can’t put everything together exactly the way it was before.”

You can read the ABA Journal article here. It's Game on for Family Lawyers
You can access the game’s website here, where the game may be downloaded or ordered to arrive on a disk. A free demo may also be downloaded so that you can try it out prior to ordering.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks