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Ask the Attorney Archives

Does our small office need an FMLA policy?

03/06/2011
Q. I have 11 employees and I am the only exempt employee. All others are hourly. I have a pregnant employee and have to write a policy for pregnancy, maternity leave, FMLA. Do I fall under the rules for following FMLA with less than 50 employees? Does my policy need to include the FMLA regulation? — Dr. Noble, Texas

Should we avoid using the word ‘harassment’?

03/06/2011
Q. I have been told that we should not use the word ‘harassment’ because it is a ‘legal thing. I know we would not take a complaint and use such a legal term in referring to the specific case, but I have never heard we should not use it in reference to policy or training. In fact, I have been advised before that we should have a specific policy declaring our zero tolerance against harassment (sexual and otherwise). Additionally, the training we offer uses the word ‘harassment.’ Did I miss the message somewhere or is this person misinformed? – Georgia

Can we have current employees complete missing I-9s?

02/28/2011

Q. We have a staff of more than 40 employees. Most do not have I-9 forms in their files. Can we still have them fill out a form and, if so, are their certain steps we should take because the people are already employed with us? – Kimberly, Maryland

Do employees on maternity leave still accrue PTO leave?

02/28/2011
Q. Our employees accrue paid-time-off (PTO) leave monthly. When an employee is out on maternity leave, do they still accrue PTO time for the time they are out? – Kimberly, Maryland

Must we pay for employee’s 3-hour home-to-worksite commute?

02/28/2011

Q. We have a full time, non-exempt staff person who was hired to perform home repair work for our customers. We provide him with a company vehicle that he takes home and a fuel card. His truck is regularly kept stocked with all of the tools and equipment he needs to perform his work. His project locations vary, but are mostly located in a three-hour radius of his home. He is not required to visit an office or other location each day. He’s provided a schedule that tells him where his jobs are located. If we are careful not to call and talk work with him during his commute, must we pay him hourly for his home-to-first-job commute and his last-stop-to-home commute? Does driving a company vehicle versus a personal vehicle make any difference in this scenario? — W.S., Florida 

Employee on FMLA: Can we dock his pay for disciplinary reasons?

02/28/2011
Q. An exempt employee took FMLA leave and can only work a certain number of hours per day. If this employee has disciplinary problems and is sent home, do we still just pay him for the hours he worked or do we pay him for the hours he was scheduled? – Sandi, Indiana

Potty parity: Does ‘bathroom discipline’ cross line into discrimination?

02/28/2011
Q. We have had numerous complaints about bodily fluids being on the floor of the women’s restroom. One employee found the culprit and this employee gave the reason that she does not sit on the toilet, but rather “hovers” over it. The supervisor of this contracted employee was asked to have a meeting with his department to tell them to discontinue this as it is unsanitary and unsafe. But the supervisor said this would be racial discrimination as well as being politically incorrect because his department is primarily composed of Indians. If the cause was narrowed to down to this one “group,” is it illegal to speak only to this group about discontinuing this behavior for sanitary and safety reasons? – Anonymous, Texas

How many days must we give employee to return FMLA form?

02/22/2011
Q. If we send out paperwork for FMLA, how may days do we need to wait for a response from the employee? – Anonymous, Indiana

Identifying leave as FMLA-eligible: Is it our job or the employee’s?

02/18/2011
Q. Do we have to alert an employee if we think they fall under a FMLA category, or should the employee contact us? We do have a posting in all our stores about FMLA. — Anonymous, Illinois

Can we dock the pay of workers who fail to turn in credit card receipts?

02/18/2011
Q. We issue company credit cards to employees and require them to hand in receipts. The IRS requires us to keep all receipts on record. Can we penalize employees that do not turn in receipts by deducting the amount from their checks? – Fonda, CA