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Q&A

Interviewee raises sensitive issue: Is it still bias?

08/13/2012

Q. I understand there are lots of questions we can’t ask during interviews. But what if the applicant brings up the subject? For example, if she mentions that she just had a baby, can I ask if she’s made child care arrangements? If a person is coming from out of town, I may ask why. If they say “boyfriend/girlfriend,” can I ask if it’s a permanent move?

Must we pay interns and give them benefits?

08/09/2012
Q. We are still getting requests from students to work for free. We know we have to pay them minimum wage, but do we have to do more? Do we have to pay benefits or give paid holidays?

Can we demand certification of violent employee’s alleged mental illness?

07/31/2012
Q. One of our employees physically threatened her co-workers. When confronted about the incident, the employee claimed that her behavior resulted from being bipolar. May we ask the employee to provide medical certification to prove that she is bipolar?

May we ever ask about applicant’s religion?

07/27/2012
Q. When, if ever, can our company legally ask an applicant about his or her religious affiliation?

When woman returns from maternity leave, must she return to her exact former job?

07/27/2012
Q. When an employee returns from maternity leave, do we have to give her the very same job she had or can she be put to work in a different type of position?

What makes a full-time employee?

07/27/2012
Q. How many hours must employees work to be considered full time? Part time?

Employees switch shifts: Does that potentially increase our overtime liability?

07/27/2012

Q. Are employers required to pay for overtime hours that result when an employee voluntarily switches shifts with a co-worker?

Is it legal to raise sales quotas and then fire reps who don’t meet them?

07/27/2012

Q. As a large retail business, we employ several demo reps who present products to shoppers in the hope they’ll buy them. Recently, we’ve had to put increasing pressure on our demo reps to increase sales up to 200%. If a demo rep doesn’t meet the new goal, can we terminate him or her? Do they have legal recourse should they be fired?

How should we craft a policy allowing us to refuse to consider unsolicited résumés?

07/27/2012
Q. Our company doesn’t want to consider applicants who send in unsolicited résumés. We are trying to come up with a legally sound definition for “applicant” so we can write an official policy. Any suggestions?

Do tips count as pay for the purpose of calculating an employee’s overtime rate of pay?

07/24/2012
Q. Some of our employees receive tips from cus­­tomers. Do we need to include those tips when we calculate these employees’ rate of pay for purposes of paying them overtime?