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Susan Lessack

Are we vulnerable to reverse discrimination claims because of our ‘early out’ program?

06/24/2010
Q. Are there any specific rules defining “early out” retirement packages offered to employees? Our company is planning to offer early outs. Our criteria mandate that an employee must have worked for us for at least 15 years and be at least 50 years old. But we have employees who have worked as long as 28 years who fail to meet the 50-year-old criterion. Is this age discrimination in a reverse sort of way?

In health care? Get ready for federal affirmative action scrutiny

06/24/2010

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has a bigger budget and more staffing this year, and intends to audit federal government contractors or subcontractors that have 50 or more employees and a contract or subcontract of at least $50,000. And the OFCCP can be expected to increase its scrutiny on health care providers that are contractors or subcontractors for the government.

How liable are we for an employee’s accident that occurred while he was on the phone?

05/26/2010
Q. One of our managers was talking on his company cell phone while driving when he struck and injured a pedestrian. Can the pedestrian sue the company?

Is it OK to ask about race?

05/26/2010
Q. We have all new employees fill out a data sheet. Is it OK to ask them to reveal their race on this form?

What factors should I consider before firing a new employee for excessive absences?

05/26/2010
Q. We have a new administrative employee in our medical office who missed 22 days of work in her first nine weeks. She has doctor excuses for illnesses for most of the days, but my front office is a shambles. Can I put her on written warning for excessive absences? Can I terminate her?

Is it legal to dock pay for break tardiness?

05/26/2010
Q. We give employees the choice of using two 10-minute breaks each day or combining them into one 20-minute lunch break. The employees are required to punch out and in for these breaks. We also have a policy that docks employees 15 minutes if they’re four or more minutes late returning from a break. Is this legal?

Should we publicly post vacation schedules?

05/26/2010
Q. We post employees’ vacation schedules in the employee lunchroom. Occasionally, outside visitors or customers visit the lunchroom, too. Some employees have complained about this posting policy, saying it borders on invasion of privacy. Are they right,  from a legal standpoint, and should we stop doing this?

Should we pay for employee’s drive from his home to a training seminar?

04/28/2010
Q. What if an employee drives his own car to a seminar that’s two hours away? Should he get paid for his driving time to and from the seminar, even if he leaves from home and drives straight home afterward?

Can we require women to repay maternity leave benefits if they quit before returning to work?

04/28/2010
Q. Our maternity leave policy offers paid leave for female employees who plan to return to work after the birth of the child. If the employee quits before returning to work, she’s required to reimburse the company for the paid leave. Is this lawful?

Is it legal to condition job offers on passing a drug test?

04/28/2010
Q. Our company wants to begin screening applicants for illegal drugs. Can we make job offers conditioned on the results of a drug test?