Use caution when terminating someone who is on FMLA leave or has just returned to work following FMLA leave. The timing alone might trigger a lawsuit. If you have a solid business reason for terminating the employee, you will probably win in the end, but that victory may still cost you thousands of dollars in legal fees and lost […]
If you are like most of us, your resolution to keep clutter under control has failed. Get back on track with these helpful hints: The Dump – when you don’t have a spot for every item that you need for work, you end up creating multiple piles everywhere. It’s time to close the dump. Set […]
Are you using an automated system for tracking time? Some might think because it is automated the employee doesn’t have to review and sign the reported hours. Employees should always review the reported time, regardless of an automated or handwritten reported times. Skipping this important step opens your company up to a claim of being […]
Government contractors must provide up to 56 hours of paid sick leave per year to employees working on federal contracts according to a final rule announced Sept. 29, 2016. The DOL estimates 1.15 million employees will receive paid leave as a result. President Obama touted the rule during his weekly radio address on Oct. 1st […]
Question: We have a manager whose hours have been reduced to 20 per week. As a result, he does not meet the minimum salary requirement to maintain his exempt status. Does he need to be reclassified as an hourly non-exempt employee? If so, would the manager’s title need to change? Answer: You are correct that […]
Question: A top-performing full-time employee was authorized to work part-time so he can go to school. Another employee, who is aware of the accommodation that was granted, has also asked to switch to part-time so she too can go to school. The organization does not want to grant the accommodation to the second person because her performance has […]
Your organization plans on offering group health insurance sometime soon, but in the meantime, you would like to give employees medical reimbursements in their paychecks in lieu of offering insurance. Is this allowed? The IRS prohibits employers from offering stipends or reimbursing employees for individual health plans, regardless of the tax treatment of the stipend […]
What do you do when: An employee is running late and asks a coworker to clock him in, saying he’d be at work in a few minutes. The coworker does so, but the employee doesn’t show up for an hour. Can we change the clock-in time to reflect when the employee actually got to work? What […]
The new I-9 form was released, November 14. It may now be used, although the old form will remain valid through January 21, 2017. After that date, you must use the new form. It is recommended that you train all employees who are responsible for completing the I-9 and start to use it for new hires […]
Since we are in an Employment at-will state, I can fire an employee anytime, right? Not always. In every U.S. state except Montana, employment is presumed to be at-will, meaning either the employer or the employee can legally terminate the employment relationship at any time, with or without notice, and with or without cause. The […]
