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Employment Law

Keep exempt status by authorizing discretion

11/11/2009

It’s a serious mistake to wrongly classify employees as exempt when they should be designated as hourly workers eligible for overtime. Be especially wary of one of the most common errors: Applying the exempt administrative classification to employees just because they perform nonmanual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the company.

Watch out for retaliation—even if employee never made formal discrimination complaint

11/11/2009

Employees who come to HR with complaints about alleged discrimination are protected from retaliation, as are employees who go to the EEOC or state and local anti-discrimination agencies. But what about employees who voice informal complaints? They’re protected from retaliation, too, even if all they did was simply voice concerns about how the company is treating other employees.

Zero-tolerance policy on theft OK if applied consistently across the board

11/11/2009

If you believe an employee has been stealing from your organization, you may not have the time or resources to launch an investigation worthy of "Law and Order." If it’s your consistent policy to terminate those accused of stealing, fire away.

Inconvenient work schedule no reason to quit and collect

11/11/2009

Employees who quit aren’t generally entitled to unemployment compensation. However, there’s an exception for employees who quit “because of a good reason caused by the employer”—if the employees first give employers a chance to correct the problem. One reason that’s not good enough: a schedule change.

Draft arbitration agreements as broadly as possible

11/11/2009

If your organization uses arbitration agreements to help keep employment disputes out of court, make sure the agreement is drafted to be as broad as possible. Your best bet: Have an attorney write or review the agreement.

Beware employee costs that bring wages below minimum

11/11/2009

Beware breaking wage-and-hour laws if you employ drivers who cover expenses for the vehicles they use to make deliveries. If your hourly rate minus those expenses yields a figure lower than the minimum wage, you may be violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Must we provide extended leave for employee to care for son wounded in the line of duty?

11/11/2009

Q. One of our employees has requested medical leave to care for her 35-year-old son who was injured in combat duty. The employee indicated that she will probably need more than 12 weeks of leave. Do we have to give her more than 12 weeks of leave?

What do we need to do before implementing a drug and alcohol testing program?

11/11/2009

Q. My company wants to begin substance-abuse testing of employees that it suspects are under the influence of drugs or alcohol in the workplace. We already have a drug- and alcohol-free workplace policy. Is there anything else we need to do to allow us to test employees for illegal drugs or alcohol?

Attitude, absence & foul language: 3 scripts for those conversations you’d rather not have

11/10/2009

Paul Falcone, author of 101 Tough Conversations to Have with Employees, offers these scripts to follow when you need to have awkward but essential conversations with employees. Here’s what managers should say after they’ve said, “Hey, got a minute?” 

The HR I.Q. Test: November ’09

11/10/2009

Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …