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Facts & FAQs

Q: We understand that we may need new employment posters for the new year and we plan to put them on our company intranet. If we only post them there, will we be in compliance?
Q: If an employee resigns, when must wages be paid for?
Q: Do I have to give severance pay when I fire someone?
Q: What questions should I avoid asking when conducting an interview?
Q: How can I hire a foreign worker?
Q: What should I do if I find out that an employee is not authorized to work in the US?
Q: What forms do I need to complete when I hire an employee?
Q: How can I maximize the chance of having a non-compete agreement enforced by court?
Q: What level of employees should receive non-compete or confidentiality agreements?
Q: What considerations do non-compete (“restricted covenants”) need to cater for?
Q: Which limited agreements are important for preventing employees from causing harm to a company?
Q: Can I refuse to hire an employee if I receive an unfavorable background check?
Q: What employee benefits must be provided for an employee at termination?
Q: How long does COBRA coverage last?
Q: How can we measure our recruiting costs?
Q: How can I protect myself with an employee who has access to sensitive company information?
Q: What guidelines should I consider before terminating an employee?
Q: What are other alternatives to terminating a problem employee?
Q: What legislation should I review in regards to terminating an employee?
Q: How can I motivate my employees?
Q: How do I conduct a performance review?
Q: What benefits are part-time employees entitled to and how is part-time defined?
Q: What leaves are employees entitled to and what are the requirements?
Q: How long do I have to hold a job for an employee who’s out on a worker’s compensation injury?
Q: We have an employee who has been with us for five years. She has been a very good employee, always dependable, good quality work, pleasant to be around, virtually no problems. In the last two months she has become irritable, complains about others, seems to be sick more, and recently missed an important deadline for the first time. We are concerned and are not sure how to handle the situation.
Q: What is meant by the term “comparable worth” and how is it different from equal pay?
Q: When we started receiving a number of calls from vendors and other suppliers about bills not having been paid, we suspected that our Accounts Payable Clerk was not doing her job. Since she was on vacation when these calls came in, we brought in a locksmith to get into her desk, and we uncovered several months’ bills stuffed in one of the drawers. This included telephone and utility bills and, generally, this made us very uncomfortable.

Her employment was terminated upon her return from vacation. She complained that the contents of her desk were her property and that we had no right to search it. She pointed out that we had no policy stating otherwise and claimed that going into her desk was an “invasion of privacy.” She was terminated anyway, but we are wondering just whose property are the contents of the desk?
Q: We have an employee who is on jury duty. While we have agreed to pay for the first five days of such duty, she was out for three weeks. When she found out that she would be gone that long, she reported to the judge that this would be a “hardship.” The judge replied that the organization “had to pay for all of the time she spent on jury duty” and that if we (the organization) “gives you a hard time, report them to me and I’ll take care of it.” That is neither right nor fair, is it? What could he do to us?
Q: May an employer ask all employees what prescription medications they are taking?
Q: I have recently received the wonderful opportunity to add HR to my list of job responsibilities. In trying to figure out where to start, I looked at our employment posters. They look pretty old and I probably need to update them. How do I know what the required postings are, where to get them, and where they need to be posted?
Q: What are the rules regarding meal breaks and rest breaks? Do the rules differ for part-time and full-time employees? We have too many employees returning late from lunch and dinner breaks. Can we require employees to take their meal periods (especially dinner) on company premises?
Q: Is it possible to be exempt and non-exempt at the same time? I know that may sound like a peculiar question, but aren’t there times when, even though I’m a manager, I could be doing nothing but non-managerial jobs?
Q: We have recently set up our network and each employee now has access to the Internet. How can I prevent a lot of wasted time spent by employees on-line? And can I prevent employees from accessing inappropriate sites?
Q: I established a policy regarding holidays which states, “Generally, this organization observes the following nine days of paid holiday for all full-time employees. Because of the nature of this business, it may be necessary for some employees, however, to work on the days listed.” One of my employees who worked on Martin Luther King’s birthday complained that she thought she would have the day off, that she felt it was an important holiday, and that the policy was, therefore, a discriminatory practice and unfair to her. It is discriminatory? Is it unfair?
Q: Does an organization have the right to run a credit check on me? If the credit check is “negative,” can the firm refuse to hire me on that basis alone?
Q: I have always been of the opinion that having a policy and procedure manual just gets us into trouble. Whatever policy we establish, we're stuck with. Besides that, our law firm has told us that every policy becomes contractual. Would you agree?
Q: I’ve got an employee whom I can not, for the life of me, motivate. “Murray” has been with the organization for 20 years. He is two years away from retirement. He has gone as far as he is going to go in the company, and he knows it. I think he is patiently treading water until retirement, and there’s nothing I can do about it. He is too smart to let his work slip – rather, he has become a master at doing the minimal work needed to get by. What can I do? Please, don’t say, “Get rid of him.” I’ve thought about it, but he is a very popular guy with his co-workers, and firing him two years before he retires will kill morale. To say nothing of the legal problems the organization could encounter.
Q: Our organization is beginning an employee-of-the-month program for our hourly employees. We are a manufacturing firm with about 150 employees. We want this program to build goodwill with our employees. What types of rewards are the most beneficial as recognition for an employee-of-the-month program?
Q: We are trying to get a handle on our policies. We have staff members who have negative sick leave balances. Can we legally transfer their vacation into their sick leave to help reduce their balance? Also, if they resign or are terminated before the sick leave is paid back, can we legally deduct that from their last paycheck?
Q: When an employee raises an employment issue, when do we, as an employer, need to conduct an internal investigation and who should do the investigation?
Q: Can an employer discipline an employee who reports to work under the influence of drugs or alcohol, even though the actual usage occurred off the premises during non-work time?
Q: Several weeks ago, we hired an individual as our Office Manager. He said that he would have to give two weeks notice to his (then) current employer, and we agreed. We were in dire need of help in setting up a computer system with which this individual had some experience. He and our VP agreed that he would come in for two evenings during those weeks to help us set up a computer system. (Of course, we would pay him for those two evenings.)

When he didn’t show up on either of those nights, we called him to find out where he was. We also left a message asking if he was still interested in working for us. He didn’t respond to the call or the message, but showed up on the original starting date. We told him that he was no longer needed.

This morning we received a letter from him threatening legal action for “breach of an oral contract.” While he didn’t sign an application form with an “at-will” disclaimer, he does have a copy of our employee handbook, which has the same language in it. Are we liable for anything other than the pay he received for the morning he showed up?
Q: I have a driver who is a good employee who just told me their driver’s license has been suspended for 6 months. Since driving is an essential part of their job (and I do have a written job description which requires a current driver’s license), how do I handle this situation?
Q: Our current application form asks for an applicant’s social security number. I have recently been advised that this is not a good practice. Why isn’t it?
Q: We recently terminated an employee. We just received a letter from her asking us to provide a letter stating the reasons for her termination. Do I have to provide a letter?
Q: I am the Human Resource Manager for a small organization. We have an employee who witnessed a male manager putting his arm around a female employee while he was speaking with her. The employee who witnessed this complained that this was harassment, although she admitted that the manager has never put his arm around her. How should we handle this situation?
Q: For the past five years we have had a “probationary period” for the first 90 days of employment. We have recently been advised that this should be termed an “introductory period.” Why should we change it?
Q: Our current application form asks for an applicant’s ability to speak or read foreign languages. I have recently been advised that this is not a good practice. Why isn’t it?
Q: We have a supervisor that everyone knows is kind of a jerk. He tells off-color jokes, and uses inappropriate terms when speaking of women. No one has come to me and complained, he has never done any of this in front of me, and everyone knows he is just this way. Do we need to do anything since no one has complained?
Q: We have two employees who are continually fighting. I’ve talked with each of them and they get along fine with other people, but cannot get along with each other. What should I do?
Q: We’ve recently had a number of employees who have been fighting at work.
Q: We have an employee who has been with us about a year, but is just not “up to snuff” – can we fire her? She has never had a performance appraisal (due now) and there is nothing in her personnel file.
Q: Is it legal to request a longer resignation period for management employees than others? If there isn’t a written contract between the employer and the manager, is a longer (say six weeks) notification period enforceable? And is the management employee liable to the employer if s/he does not give six weeks notice?
Q: We provide 14 paid holidays for employees, several of which are floating holidays. An employee has come forward and said that we need to observe Good Friday as a paid holiday, since we are observing others. Are we required to do this?
Q: We have an employee who was picking up some supplies for the office and got into an accident in her own car. Is she covered by worker’s compensation and who is responsible for the damage to her car?
Q: We have received recent advice to have all of our employees sign a non-compete agreement. What do you think about this idea?
Q: We have received conflicting advice about having a progressive disciplinary policy. We have had one in the past, but got into trouble when a step was skipped when there was a severe infraction.
Q: What happens when an employee is discharged for making an internal complaint to you about wage and hour violations? Is that employee protected by the FLSA anti-retaliation provision?
Q: An HR Manager overhears a group of employees discussing salaries in the cafeteria. In response, the HR Manager walks over to the employees’ table and tells them that employee pay is confidential, that employees are forbidden from discussing their salaries, and that if (s)he discovers that any of them has discussed personal pay with co-workers again, that employee will be disciplined and possibly terminated.

The HR Manager returns to his/her office and drafts the following policy for inclusion in the employee handbook:

An employee’s pay is a private matter between you and the organization. The organization will keep this information in strictest confidence, and you are required to do the same. Violation of this policy will result in discipline, up to and including termination.

Can the organization get into legal trouble if the HR Manager terminates an employee for discussing salary with co-workers in the future? What if the organization includes the manager’s drafted policy in its employee handbook?
Q: Our policy has always been to offer employment to selected applicants over the phone. We recently heard that offers should be in writing. Is this true and should we change our policies to make such an offer in writing?


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