• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Q&A

What are the pros and cons of offer letters?

03/29/2011
Q. We send formal offer letters to job candidates for certain positions. Could such letters legally bind us, and would we be smarter to avoid them?

Can we reduce pay for an exempt employee who works less because she is pregnant?

03/29/2011
Q. One of our salaried employees is pregnant. She brought in a doctor’s note that says she can work only six hours per day. Can I either reduce her pay or have her work six days a week?

Are we allowed to offer housing stipends to just some employees?

03/29/2011
Q. Is it legal to offer some employees, but not others, stipends to help with rent or lodging?

Who pays for uniform cleaning?

03/29/2011
Q. We require employees to wear uniforms. Can we deduct from their paychecks the money to pay for the uniform or clean it?

Comparing paychecks: Can we prohibit it?

03/25/2011
Q. You recently wrote that the National Labor Relations Act gives employees the legal right to discuss their pay with one another. Our office policy has always been that we do not allow this. Are we within our legal rights to prohibit it? We are a private medical practice with 88 employees and four offices.

What’s the California law on tip credits?

03/22/2011
Q. We are a national restaurant chain that pays our waiters and waitresses less than the minimum wage because they earn tips. We are planning to open our first restaurant in California. Can we continue to pay our tipped employees less than the minimum wage?

Under a PTO plan, how should we handle payouts when employees quit or get fired?

03/22/2011
Q. Our company is considering replacing sick leave and vacation benefits with a paid time off (PTO) system. Under a PTO plan, how should we handle it when an employee resigns or is terminated?

Summer FMLA leave to care for child: Permissible?

03/18/2011
Q. An employee asked to take 12 weeks of FMLA leave this summer because her kindergarten-age child will be out of school. She says her child is special-needs and can’t go to summer camp. Do we have to allow her to take what amounts to an unpaid summer vacation?

Must we pay for lactation breaks?

03/14/2011
Q. Are employers required to pay employees for break time taken under the Nursing Mothers Law?

What are the new rules affecting breastfeeding?

03/14/2011
Q. What does the Break Time for Nursing Mothers Law (also known as the Nursing Mothers Law) contained in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) require of employers?