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  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
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Susan Lessack

Offer temp job to driver too injured to drive?

01/03/2014
Q. Recently, one of our delivery drivers was hurt at home and is now unable to drive. Should we offer alternative employment?

Can we withhold double the cost of unreturned equipment from employee’s final paycheck?

01/03/2014
Q. Our employee handbook states, “If you do not return a piece of property we will withhold from your final paycheck the cost of replacing that piece of property.” One of our employees recently quit on the spot. My boss wants to almost double the actual replacement cost of the item. Can we do this?

Pay for voluntary training during lunch?

01/03/2014
Q. If our organization offers voluntary employee training, which takes place during lunch, do we have to pay employees for the time spent attending training?

Wrap up 2013 right: What to check in your annual HR policy review

12/23/2013
Now’s a good time to review employment policies and practices in light of the government’s aggressive efforts to enforce employment laws. To ensure compliance, review your policies and practices in all these areas.

Is there a legal way to ask if candidates will be able to work weekends and after hours?

11/27/2013
Q. We are currently interviewing for an event coordinator position, which would require the person to frequently work well beyond the usual 9-to-5 workweek. Is there a way we can ask about personal situations and make it clear that missing these events because of family obligations would not be tolerated?

How should we handle time tracking for nonexempt telecommuters?

11/27/2013
Q. We try to be a flexible workplace and sometimes get requests from employees to work from home for a day or two during school breaks and so on. I don’t have a problem with this for exempt em­­ployees, but what about hourly ones? How do we track that time?

What should we do about reports that new employee smells of alcohol?

11/06/2013
Q. There have been a few reports from co-workers about a new employee smelling of alcohol, although he shows no sign of intoxication. Can we ask him if he has been drinking on duty?

Where should we display labor law posters?

10/29/2013
Q. I recently heard that some of our posters have to be displayed where applicants can see them, not just our employees. Is that true?

What are the limits on employee monitoring?

10/29/2013
Q. How would an employer legally go about monitoring employees in the workplace?

What’s the definition of ‘right-to-work’?

10/29/2013
Q. What is the difference between a right-to-work state and a non-right-to-work state such as Pennsylvania?