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Q&A

How should we prohibit texting while driving?

01/22/2010

Q. I saw in the paper last week that texting while driving is no longer allowed in North Carolina. Should my company have a policy regarding this?

Who gets paid first: employees or creditors?

01/22/2010

Q. My small construction business is closing its doors, and we have limited funds with which to pay employees and numerous creditors. What should we do? Who should we pay first?

Free tickets to employees: Taxable compensation?

01/20/2010

Q. We are in the travel business and our office regularly receives free tickets to sporting events (worth $30 and up). We typically give them to employees who want to use them. Is such a gift ethical?

Must all hours count toward OT ‘total hours’?

01/18/2010

Q. We currently pay employees for time spent driving from the office to work sites. We pay minimum wage for that driving time, but we don’t count those hours toward “total hours” worked for the week. That keeps overtime down because their hours aren’t accumulating until they arrive at the job site. Is this OK?

If worker is out on FMLA leave, can we modify her job?

01/15/2010

Q. Before an employee left for FMLA leave, she performed two functions: administrative assistant and some HR duties. We filled the administrative position while she was on leave. Can we assign her to work only in the HR position when she comes back?

What’s the rule for paying when employees clock in or out slightly before or after work?

01/14/2010

Q. If my employees clock in before their starting time and clock out after their day is scheduled to end, am I required to pay them for that extra time?

Can I regulate how our e-mail system is used for union matters?

01/14/2010

Q. Can I prohibit an employee from using the company’s e-mail system for union-organizing purposes?

Is it legal to dock pay for employee foul-ups?

01/14/2010

Q. Can I deduct the cost of an employee’s error from his or her paycheck?

Does the FMLA apply after a loved one has died?

01/13/2010

Q. I have an employee who has been taking FMLA leave to care for her ill mother. The employee’s mother recently died, and the employee has requested an additional few weeks to attend to some issues with her mother’s estate. Can I continue to treat this time as FMLA leave?

Could we have refused to hire waitress who now refuses to sing ‘Happy Birthday’?

01/13/2010

Q. One of the waitresses working in our restaurant claims her religion forbids her from singing “Happy Birthday” to customers. If, during her interview, we had identified this requirement as an essential job function, and if she said she couldn’t sing the song for religious reasons, would we have been within our rights to refuse to hire her?