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  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
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Q&A

How long must we retain records?

09/05/2008
Q. How long should I keep employment-related records, such as wage information and personnel files? …

Fee-Basis pay to maintain overtime exemption

09/05/2008
Q. Are there any alternatives to paying employees on a salary basis and having them remain exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act? …

Can we require longer hours?

09/05/2008
Q. We need our employees to work longer shifts to meet current production demands. Some employees have objected because this will interfere with their child care responsibilities. Is it legal for us to do this? …

Can an interviewer ask about drug use?

09/05/2008
Q. I recently asked an applicant whether she used illegal drugs. She told me she understood that employers were not allowed to ask such questions. Is this legal? …

Calculating overtime when the workweek doesn’t correspond to pay periods

09/02/2008

Q. We pay our workers every two weeks. How should we calculate overtime? …

Do temp employees lessen liability?

09/02/2008

Q. We use a full-service employee leasing company. Are we exposed to liability for employment claims brought by leased employees? …

Do employees have to take meal and rest breaks?

09/02/2008
Q. I know Colorado requires employers to provide unpaid meal breaks and paid rest periods. But what if an employee is offered the meal period or rest period and prefers to continue working? Is that permitted? …

What to do when an employee threatens violence

09/02/2008
Q. I work in the HR area at my company and just learned that an employee who is experiencing some personal problems is now having performance problems at work. I also learned the employee has made threats about hurting his boss and a certain co-worker. What should I do? …

Should we have laid-Off employees sign releases?

09/02/2008
Q. Business has been slow and it doesn’t seem likely it will pickup in the foreseeable future. We’re going to have to let some employees go. I’ve heard some employers in our situation ask employees to sign agreements releasing the company from future employment-related claims. Should we get releases from the employees when we terminate them?

Handling layoffs with workers’ comp claims pending

09/02/2008
Q. We need to lay off an entire shift at our assembly plant. A few of these workers are off work or on temporary light-duty jobs as a result of on-the-job injuries. They have workers’ comp claims pending. If we lay off the entire shift, can we lay off the injured workers as well? …