North Carolina employers must comply with federal notice laws when performing mass layoffs.
Other than workers' compensation and unemployment insurance benefits, North Carolina does not require employers to provide their employees with paid benefits. Employers do not have to provide paid health care insurance benefits, wage or fringe benefits or mandatory holiday benefits. North Carolina is an at-will state, and employers can terminate their employees for no reason and without advance notice of termination. However, employers must comply with federal anti-discrimination laws.
Vacation Pay
North Carolina employers do not have to provide their employees with paid or unpaid vacation benefits. Under the federal labor laws, the Department of Labor does not mandate pay for time not worked. However, employers who voluntarily pay their employees with accrued vacation compensation or paid time off must comply with the state's forfeiture rule. The forfeiture rule allows employers to implement policies that require employees to forfeit the unused vacation time when they terminate employment. Employers who do not specifically include forfeiture provisions in their written policies must pay their employees for accrued but unused vacation time at termination of employment.
Maximum Hours Worked
There is no limit to the number of hours employers can ask their employees to work. As long as those employees are not minors, then employers do not have to provide mandatory paid or unpaid meal or rest breaks. Employers must provide minors under 16 years old with a 30-minute lunch break for every five hours worked. For overtime work, employers must pay their employees at time and half for hours exceeding 40 hours in one workweek. North Carolina employers may require their employees to work overtime but must pay them at overtime rates. However, employers exempt under federal labor laws are also exempt under state overtime regulations.
Unemployment Compensation
The North Carolina Employment Security Commission is responsible for administering unemployment benefits for North Carolinians. As long as they were not fired because of previous misconduct and termination, they qualify for unemployment benefits. Benefit amounts depend on weekly earnings paid during their base periods of employment or four out of the last five quarters of employment before termination. North Carolina also provides working employees with unemployment compensation if their hours are reduced or they receive pay cuts for no fault of their own.
State Employees
Employees who work for the state of North Carolina receive special benefits from the Office of State Personnel. Employees receive at least 94 hours of paid vacation leave annually, at least 11 paid holidays per year, leave for community service activities, 96 hours of paid sick leave, and part-time employees receive prorated leave. Employees may also participate in "leave sharing" where they can donate or share their leave with other employees.
Considerations
Since employment laws can frequently change, you should not use this information as a substitute for legal advice. Seek advice through an attorney licensed to practice law in your jurisdiction.
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