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Compensation & Benefits

Pay for ‘Floating Holiday’ Depends on Your Policy

03/01/2000

Q. We gave eligible employees a “floating holiday” in lieu of having Dec. 31, 1999, as a paid holiday. We generally pay employees for all unused vacation, sick and personal time upon termination, but we have no policy regarding an unused floating holiday. Do we have to pay workers for any unused floating holidays upon termination? Does it make any difference if the employee requested the day off but the supervisor denied the request? —C.R., Illinois

Violating wage law can entitle former workers to benefits

03/01/2000
Michael Martini voluntarily quit his job as a driver, but he still may be able to collect unemployment benefits. Why? The company violated the law, in this case, not guaranteeing …

Don’t let COBRA bite you

03/01/2000
Nothing about COBRA is simple. Even the name of the law is not straightforward. It comes from the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act under …

Snow days might not freeze out exempt workers

03/01/2000

Q. Due to recent snowstorms, some employees have not been able to get to work. Can we dock the pay and/or accrued leave of employees who do not come to work? Can we do so even if the office is closed? Our attorney told us that the Fair Labor Standards Act does not apply to us because, among other things, our gross sales are under $500,000. —A.I., Maryland

You can recoup loss for payroll error

03/01/2000

Q. We direct-deposit the wages and salaries of most of our employees. Last week, two checks for the same pay period were deposited into an employee’s account. Can we legally have the bank withdraw the extra funds from the employee’s account? —M.F., California

No need to alter policy for employees who are expecting

02/01/2000
When she became pregnant, Michelle Spivey worried about lifting a nearly 250-pound patient in her job as a certified nurse’s assistant. She asked the rehabilitation center where she worked for assistance …

Average evaluations and lateral transfers may not be discriminatory

02/01/2000
The Export-Import Bank reassigned several employees in the early 1990s, and Regina Brown wasn’t happy about it. The 50-year-old black senior loan officer filed suit, claiming her transfer to what …

Two key January rulings

02/01/2000
You must protect contractors from hostile environments. A Mexican-American owner of a company hired to clean parking lots at Wal-Mart claimed that …

Employment issues to watch in Washington this year

02/01/2000
Don’t look for any major new employment laws this year. Instead, look for President Clinton’s appointees in regulatory agencies to try to pack some punch into their final months. Here’s what …

Severe but short-term conditions can qualify for ADA protection

02/01/2000
When a data support clerk was diagnosed with depression, she applied for and received 12 weeks’ leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Then she requested an additional three-month leave, …