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Q&A

Can employees plead the Fifth Amendment during an investigative interview?

12/18/2008

Q. Our company recently discovered some theft in our operation. We called an employee in for an investigative interview. He claimed to have consulted with an attorney and refused to answer our questions on the grounds that he could not be forced to incriminate himself under the Fifth Amendment. What are our choices?

Can we deduct personal leave for exempt worker’s partial-day absence?

12/18/2008

Q. Some of our supervisors make their exempt employees take personal or sick leave for every minute they miss from work, even if they work a regular schedule the rest of the week. Can we safely do that?

Unfair labor charges

12/15/2008

Q. Our employee relations manager received a charge of an unfair labor practice (ULP) filed by the union with the National Labor Relations Board. In the ULP charge, the union alleges that when the secretary for our attorneys contacted a former employee—who had been discharged for misconduct—to schedule his deposition in his unemployment compensation proceeding, our company engaged in coercive interrogation in violation of the National Labor Relations Act and the Johnnie’s Poultry standard. There were no unfair labor practice proceedings pending before we received this ULP charge. What is Johnnie’s Poultry, and how is scheduling a deposition in a proceeding about a former employee’s unemployment compensation claim an unlawful labor practice?

With flu season approaching, can we force employees to stay home from work?

12/09/2008

Q. Flu season is coming and we are concerned. If employees have the flu or show flu symptoms, can we require them to stay home long enough to make sure they are no longer contagious? Would we have to pay them for time away?

What should we do about employee’s bright solution to seasonal affective disorder

12/09/2008

Q. With the change in the seasons, an employee who claims to suffer from seasonal affective disorder wants to put up a special lighting fixture by her desk that she says will provide natural-spectrum light. Some employees complained last year when she put up this light that it was bothersome and distracting to them. Do we have to let the employee use the light? What do we tell other employees?

Must we offer severance payments?

12/09/2008

Q. It looks like it will be necessary for our company to lay off several employees. Can you tell me whether we are required to pay severance? If so, how much?

How frequently must employees be paid? What’s the rule on final paychecks?

12/08/2008

Q. How often do I have to pay my employees? Are there any rules that require payment upon termination within a specific time period?

What are the ground rules for records retention?

12/08/2008

Q. How long do I have to keep employees’ personnel files after their terminations?

Can we regulate breast-feeding at work?

12/08/2008

Q. Does our company have to permit new moms to nurse at work?

Election Day was an attendance nightmare! Must we allow time off to vote?

12/08/2008

Q. Because of the long lines on Election Day, some employees missed hours of work. In the future, do I have to permit employees to take time off to vote?