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Q&A

New penalties under Texas wage-theft law? I heard it’s now a criminal offense

04/30/2012
Q. I heard that a new law allows criminal prosecution of employers that commit “wage theft.” Is it true?

Does the FMLA apply to employees who have domestic partners?

04/30/2012

Q. Several of our employees live with domestic partners. Are our employees entitled to FMLA leave to care for a partner?

What are the Texas voting leave rules?

04/30/2012
Q. Must we give our employees time off to vote? If so, must we pay the employees for the time they spend voting?

Where can I find required posters?

04/24/2012
Q. We’ve received differing information on exactly what notices we’re legally supposed to post in our office. Where can I find a reliable listing?

How long before we should convert temp staff to employee status?

04/24/2012

Q. Is there a law (or advisable benchmark) regarding how long we can hire temporary staff before they must be either hired on a permanent basis or released?

Can FMLA leave cover routine tardiness?

04/24/2012
Q. Some of our employees routinely ask to use FMLA when they are five or 10 minutes late. It’s a scheduling nightmare and hurts morale. Does the FMLA cover employees who are consistently tardy?

What are the rules on giving truthful references about former employees?

04/24/2012
Q. An employer asked us for a job verification on an employee we fired. The request includes a written consent form from the worker allowing the query. Can I release any and all information regarding the former employee’s history with us?

After accident in company car, can we recover insurance deductible using payroll deductions?

04/24/2012

Q. We have a fleet of company cars. If an employee is at fault in an accident, is it legal for us to require reimbursement for the $500 deductible by reducing his pay over a period of three or four pay cycles?

How should we manage unused vacation?

04/19/2012

Q. Several of our employees have compiled a lot of vacation time. Is there any way we can manage how much vacation leave time our employees accrue?

What are the rules for unpaid internships?

04/19/2012

Q. Our company has received a number of résumés from college students interested in working as unpaid interns for us during the summer months. Would hiring such unpaid internships violate federal or state laws?