Legal Hotline - Southern Newspaper Publishers Association

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Question: Are newspapers obligated to complete this form? 7/28/15

The following Legal Hotline question was addressed by L. Michael Zinser of The Zinser Law Firm

Question: The State Department of Unemployment sent the newspaper a multi-page questionnaire trying to determine the independent contractor status of a newspaper carrier. Is the newspaper obligated to complete this form and send it back to the Unemployment Department?

Click MORE to read the response from Michael Zinser of The Zinser Law Firm.

Question: Is this a possible independent contractor 'game changer'? 7/20/15

The following Legal Hotline question was addressed by L. Michael Zinser of The Zinser Law Firm

Question: On Wednesday, July 15, the U.S. Department of Labor issued an interpretative Guidance Memo on the misclassification of employees as independent contractors. Is this memo a game changer, or is this something that has been done frequently before under different names?

Click MORE to read the response from Michael Zinser of The Zinser Law Firm. MORE

Q&A about terminating a distribution agreement with an independent contractor 7/14/15

The following Legal Hotline question was addressed by L. Michael Zinser of The Zinser Law Firm

Question: If an independent contractor newspaper carrier provides the publisher a 30-day advance written notice to terminate the distribution agreement, can the publisher re-contract the route and replace the contractor in less than 30 days without being financially responsible to pay the contractor for the full 30 days?

Click MORE to read the response from Michael Zinser of The Zinser Law Firm. MORE

Q&A about employee terminations 7/7/15

The following Legal Hotline question was addressed by L. Michael Zinser of The Zinser Law Firm

Question: Is an employer required by law to communicate in writing to an employee the reason he/she was discharged?

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Q&A about criminal convictions 6/30/15

The following Legal Hotline question was addressed by L. Michael Zinser of The Zinser Law Firm

Question: On an employer’s job application, may the employer ask whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a crime?

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Can employee who is requesting additional leave under the FMLA be terminated? 6/23/15

The following Legal Hotline question was addressed by Hagood Tighe of Fisher & Phillips

Question: We have an employee who has exhausted his FMLA leave. He cannot return to work yet, but says that he should be able to return soon. He is requesting three more weeks of leave. Can we terminate him and hire a replacement since his FMLA is exhausted?

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Company e-mail address Q&A 6/15/15

The following Legal Hotline question was addressed by L. Michael Zinser of The Zinser Law Firm

Question: An independent contractor salesperson has inquired whether it would be possible for him to get a company e-mail address to use when selling. He thinks it would give him more credibility. Is this something that we can do?

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TMC agreements, apps and independent contractors 5/27/15

The following Legal Hotline question was addressed by L. Michael Zinser of The Zinser Law Firm

Question: A TMC product is not a paid product. When a resident does not receive it, they are not likely to register a complaint. Advertisers in the TMC product want some level of comfort that the product is actually being delivered. We would like to negotiate with the TMC carriers an additional contract fee if the contractor will download an app on his/her smartphone that will confirm when he/she finishes delivering the TMC product. Does this do any harm to independent contractor status?

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Legal Hotline launched for SNPA members: (844) 804-2016 5/12/15

SNPA has launched a free Legal Hotline for members – (844) 804-2016 – to assist newspapers with a broad range of legal issues.

Hotline attorneys and CPAs will tackle questions about circulation, independent contractors, labor and employment law, taxes, finances and accounting, employment benefits, open records, libel and privacy, and other issues newspapers encounter.

The attorneys and CPAs who will take calls from SNPA member newspapers are the best in the business: The Bussian Law Firm PLLC, Fisher & Phillips, Way, Ray, Shelton & Co., P.C. and The Zinser Law Firm.

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A compelling argument for 13(d) overtime exemptions for district managers

Question: Our district managers regularly deliver down routes, including home delivery. Could our newspaper use the Section 13(d) exemption from minimum wage and overtime requirements to avoid the higher salary requirements of the U.S. Department of Labor’s new rule?

Read the response from Michael Zinser of The Zinser Law Firm. More

Pay raises and unions -- what does the law allow?

Question: Our newspaper is currently in labor negotiations with a union, and we are stuck on the wage issue. Is it lawful to grant pay raises to our non-union employees while forgoing them for the represented employees?

Read the response from Michael Zinser of The Zinser Law Firm. More

Two questions regarding confidentiality

Question: Can an employer maintain a confidentiality policy that explicitly directs employees not to discuss coworkers' "private employee information," such as salaries, disciplinary action, etc., unless the information was "shared by the employee" whose information is being discussed?

Question: Employers are usually concerned about maintaining confidentiality when conducting sexual harassment, hostile work environment, and suspicion of abuse investigations. The need for confidentiality is paramount in these types of cases. Can an employer have a policy that, categorically, requires confidentiality when conducting these types of investigations?

Click MORE to read the responses from Michael Zinser of The Zinser Law Firm.

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