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Compensation & Benefits

Deducting pay for poor work performance can destroy employees’ exempt status

06/22/2009

FLSA exempt employees must be paid the same salary regardless of the quality or quantity of their work in any given pay period. In other words, employers can’t make deductions from pay for poor work. That’s true even when the compensation comes in the form of an incentive plan.

Congress begins debate on paid-leave bill; Obama OKs same-sex benefits for federal workers

06/22/2009

Legislation recently introduced in Congress would require employers with 15 or more workers to provide at least seven days of paid sick leave per employee per year. The so-called “Healthy Families Act” would guarantee workers at least one paid hour off for every 30 hours worked.

Can we request FMLA recertification for each migraine?

06/22/2009

Q. If an employee constantly calls in sick because of migraine headaches, how can we verify the real reasons for the absences? Can we ask for information each time the employee is absent?

FLSA exempt salaries: Cutting pay and hours by 20%

06/22/2009

Q. We’ve begun paying FLSA exempt employees 20% less per week and asking them to work 20% fewer hours. Some still continue to work far more hours. Can we legally do this, or must the employees report the actual number of hours they worked on their time sheets, even though they’re only receiving 80% of their regular salaries?

Mandatory overtime and the ADA

06/22/2009

Q. We have an employee who has blood clots in her legs and whose doctor says she can work only 40 hours per week. She knew overtime was required when she was hired. Do we have to let her work a reduced schedule of just 40 hours?

Can workers collect unemployment during furlough?

06/22/2009

Q. We are planning to furlough employees temporarily. If we do rolling furloughs, can employees get unemployment comp to cover some of their time off?

Better heed Ledbetter: Audit pay policies to ensure equal pay

06/16/2009

Under the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, each paycheck that unfairly pays a worker less than it should is a discriminatory act. Now is the time to audit your pay policies. Involve your attorneys—to take advantage of attorney-client privilege protection while you correct any discriminatory practices you uncover.

An hour of intermittent FMLA leave? A half hour? 15 minutes? How low can employees go?

06/16/2009

An employee approved for intermittent FMLA leave says she only needs to take an hour this week. Can she take leave in such a short increment? Could she take even less?

Suspect FMLA leave abuse? Tread carefully

06/12/2009

Employees who take intermittent FMLA leave can often cause real problems for employers because they take time off so sporadically. But sometimes you may detect a pattern that indicates the employee might be abusing authorized intermittent leave. Can you fire him?

On-demand leave isn’t reasonable accommodation

06/12/2009

Some employees think that any disability that periodically acts up entitles them to unlimited time off. Sometimes, courts view extra time off as a reasonable accommodation, but there are limits.