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Employment Law

Striking employees forfeit unemployment comp

06/01/2007

Q. We are in contract negotiations, and there is some concern that our employees will actually vote to go out on strike. Are striking employees eligible for unemployment compensation benefits in Michigan?—F.B.

Docking pay isn’t legal; rounding time normally is

06/01/2007

Q. Is it permissible to dock pay for someone who clocks in late? We pay the employee for actual hours worked to the nearest quarter hour, but we also dock tardy employees an additional quarter hour.—P.P.

Cell phones in plant: Must we bargain with union?

06/01/2007

Q. Our company has a union contract with work rules. We also have the right in the contract to change the work rules, which the union can grieve. We recently exercised our right to add a new rule prohibiting cell phones in the plant. The union hasn’t filed a grievance, but it has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board. It claims that we are obligated to bargain over the new rule. Are we obligated to bargain over a new rule like this?—R.S.

Michigan OSHA inspection

06/01/2007

Q. Michigan’s labor department has sent us a letter stating that a MIOSHA safety officer will be coming to inspect our facility regarding an employee’s safety complaint. Are we obligated to let the safety officer come into our plant and question our employees? Will the officer tell us who filed the complaint?—C.B.

Review per diem reimbursements: IRS looking closer

06/01/2007

Make sure you’re closely tracking expense reimbursements. Since the beginning of 2007, the IRS has issued a stern warning …

Train managers to act immediately on leave requests

06/01/2007

Unless you train supervisors and managers to forward all FMLA requests immediately to the HR office, you may find your organization on the losing end of a lawsuit for interfering with an employee’s right to take medical leave …

Use confidentiality clause to guard against ‘Litigation theft’

06/01/2007

Employees pursuing legal actions against their employers sometimes snoop around to see what documentary “evidence” of wrongdoing they can find around the office. Protect yourself by having a clear policy against such unauthorized document distribution …

Indefinite suspension is retaliation, even without discharge

06/01/2007

When a company faces sexual harassment or other discrimination complaints, the investigation has to start as soon as possible. Sometimes that means suspending participants while you sort things out. A prompt conclusion to a thorough investigation is the key to avoiding retaliation charges when you tell everyone to take a “time out” …

Any pregnancy problem is a serious condition under FMLA

06/01/2007

When it comes to a pregnancy, employers may want to follow the safest path: Approve any absences that are even remotely related to the pregnancy as FMLA-covered time off …

No medical certificate? You can still run FMLA leave with PTO

06/01/2007

The U.S. Labor Department allows you to run FMLA leave concurrently with other paid time off. That’s your decision to make, not the employee’s. The result: no more than 12 weeks off. The same is true even if the employee never provides you with medical certification of a serious health condition …