Jonathan Hyman

After NLRB ruling, can employees really trash you on Facebook?

02/21/2011

Don’t read too much into the recent foray by the NLRB into the brave new world of social media. Employees don’t receive a free pass on social media posts. They don’t have license to defame, disparage or otherwise trash their company, management, product or co-workers. Until the NLRB says otherwise, employers shouldn’t treat social media any differently than any other form of employee communications.

Don’t get even: The rules, risks of post-employment retaliation

02/09/2011

The typical retaliation scenario involves an employer firing an employee who has complained about discrimination or engaged in some other protected activity. What happens, however, if the employer retaliates after the end of the employment relationship? Do the anti-retaliation laws cover allegations of post-employment misconduct? The short answer is yes.

Must we pay for restroom breaks?

01/21/2011

Q. We have a school bus driver who takes a 10-minute bathroom break before dropping off her empty bus at the depot. We’ve been deducting the minutes from her paycheck. She says she must take the break due to her medication. Do we have to pay her?

How long should we retain I-9 forms?

01/07/2011

Q. We’ve been keeping I-9 forms for an indefinite period. Now I hear we only have to keep them for three years for active employees and one year for terminated employees. Which is correct?

Does new law allow nursing, or just pumping?

12/29/2010

Q. We set up a room for new mothers to express milk, complete with a refrigerator and comfortable chair. Now we have a new mother back at work after just four weeks who has the grandmother bring the infant to the workplace every three hours for nursing. This is very disruptive. Can we tell her to express and store the milk instead?

Snow day pay: Can we dock for tardiness, no shows?

12/23/2010

Q. We dock hourly employees who arrive late for work, but not our exempt employees. There’s quite a bit of resentment about this policy, especially since over time our exempt employees have been extending the time it takes them to get to work during inclement weather. We know we can’t dock exempt employees if they make it in during snow days, but can we discipline them?

Disabled worker can’t do OT: Can we lay her off?

12/16/2010

Q. We’ve been accommodating a disabled employee by letting her skip overtime. Her doctor says she needs extra sleep. But now we need to lay off several employees and start requiring mandatory overtime. Can we terminate those employees who can’t do overtime? That would include the disabled employee.

Must we give FMLA leave for grandchild’s birth?

12/09/2010

Q. One of our employees has a 16-year-old daughter who lives with her and is going to have a baby. The grandmother-to-be wants 12 weeks of FMLA leave to care for the daughter and bond with the grandchild. Is FMLA leave available for her? She says she will be co-parenting the infant. Is she basically in loco parentis to the baby and, therefore, eligible?

Of separation & slimebags: ‘Common slang’ & severance agreements

12/07/2010

I’ve seldom, if ever, negotiated a separation or settled an employment dispute for an employer without insisting that the signed agreement include a nondisparagement clause. The reality, however, is that a clause in a contract is only as good as one’s ability to enforce it after it has been breached. That’s not as easy as it once was.

Does new health law require us to cover dependents?