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Compensation & Benefits

Are meal breaks mandatory?

11/24/2010
Q. Is it mandatory for a nonexempt employee to take at least a 20-minute meal break?

How should we handle a termination when both the FMLA and short-term disability are in play?

11/24/2010
Q. We run FMLA and short-term disability (STD) concurrently. FMLA is for 12 weeks of job-protected leave. STD is for 26 weeks, with proper medical documentation. At what point can we terminate an employee?

Can a small employer deny leave to an employee whose spouse is seriously ill?

11/24/2010
Q. One of our full-time employees took time off when her husband had a heart attack. We’re a small company with 30 employees. Management was very upset and wouldn’t let her take any paid time off and wouldn’t guarantee her position. She had accumulated several weeks of paid leave. Is it legal to keep her from taking paid time off to care for her husband?

Warn bosses: Beware discouraging leave requests

11/24/2010

Whether it’s intentional or not, some supervisors send unmistakable signals that their subordinates had better not take time off unless it’s absolutely necessary. That can mean trouble. Employees who are too scared to ask for leave may later turn around and sue, alleging a deliberate effort to discourage them from taking advantage of the FMLA.

Does the Port Authority pay female attorneys less than men?

11/24/2010

The EEOC has sued the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, alleging it pays male lawyers much more than women who perform the same work. On behalf of three plaintiffs, the EEOC seeks class certification for all female attorneys affected by the allegedly discriminatory pay policies.

Management exemption looks at duties, not time

11/24/2010

Retail managers are generally responsible for everything that happens in their stores. But they often spend most of their time doing the same work that hourly employees do. Even so, they may qualify as exempt employees under the FLSA. It’s the quality of the management work they do that counts, not the number of hours they spend doing it.

Can we withhold pay if employees are late in completing and submitting time cards?

11/19/2010
Q. We have two employees who regularly fail to turn in their time cards on a timely basis. Can we hold off on paying them until they submit their time cards? Can we delay payment until the next pay period?

Are use-it-or-lose-it vacation policies legal?

11/19/2010
Q. My company has a “use it or lose it” vacation policy. Is it lawful for employees who have not taken their vacations at the end of the calendar year to lose them if we have given our employees advance notice of our policy?

What makes someone ineligible for unemployment?

11/19/2010
Q. We want to fire a bad worker, and we don’t want to take an unemployment comp hit. Under California law, when can a terminated worker be denied unemployment benefits?

Car washes accused of dirty dealings on worker pay, breaks

11/19/2010
The state Office of the Attorney General has filed a lawsuit charging eight Southern California car washes with stiffing workers out of wages, failing to pay the minimum wage, reneging on overtime pay and denying legally mandated breaks.