Jun 14 2016

Q&AEmployee BenefitsWage and Hour  

Cash in lieu of benefits must be included in regular rate calculation for overtime

Question: We offer health benefits to our employees. We also allow employees to “opt out” of our offered coverage if they can provide evidence that they have alternate coverage elsewhere. For those employees who “opt out” of our offered coverage, we provide a set amount of money each month. Do we have to include that amount of money in the regular rate of pay and in the calculation of the overtime rate?

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Jun 13 2016

Q&ATermination & Resignation  

Employer’s Response to Unemployment Forms

Q: We had to let an employee go for poor performance but told her we won’t fight her unemployment benefits. Is it best to just check “layoff” on the unemployment form, or just don’t fill it out or send it back?

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Jun 02 2016

Q&ALeave Laws  

What happens when an employee is asked by the government to help with a natural disaster?

Q: One of our employees has medical training and has been deployed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help assist in a natural disaster out of state. How do we handle this situation?

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May 19 2016

Q&AEmployee BenefitsLeave LawsWorkers’ Comp  

Is an employee out on workers’ comp entitled to health insurance?

Q: Our employee was injured at work and he’s out on a workers’ compensation claim. Are we required to carry him on our health insurance plan since this was an on-the-job injury?

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May 19 2016

Q&ALeave Laws  

What employee threshold triggers the FMLA?

Q: We currently employ 49 people and we’re about to hire one more employee. Will we have to start complying with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as soon as we have 50 employees on our payroll?

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Apr 08 2016

Q&ADisability  

Employees with Fragrance Sensitivity: Addressing Request for a Fragrance-Free Workplace

Question: We have an employee who has indicated that he is allergic to all fragrances and has requested that we prohibit anyone from wearing perfume or cologne in the workplace, banning the use of any scented products. Do we really have to tell our employees what kind of laundry detergent they can and cannot use and that they can’t wear perfume or cologne to work?

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Mar 29 2016

Q&APrivacy & Confidentiality  

Are employers required to have gender neutral bathrooms?

Question: Does the law require employers to have unisex bathrooms even if we don’t have transgender employees?

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Mar 11 2016

Q&AHarassment & Discrimination  

Using prior salary to set new hire salary raises EEO concerns

Question: To help ensure our wages don’t balloon beyond what the market requires, we set a limit on new hires’ salaries of no more than five percent over what they were making in their prior job. Any problems with this?

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Mar 08 2016

Q&AWage and Hour  

Requiring reimbursement of training costs can be tricky

Question: We send new hires through a training program that is worth $20,000. Can we require them to pay us back if they leave the company within two years?

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Feb 08 2016

Q&ADrug and Alcohol  

Marijuana in the workplace: Can we prohibit impairment?

Q: We know marijuana can stay in a person’s system for a long time, and are most concerned about preventing employees from coming to work impaired by marijuana. Can we change our Drug and Alcohol policy to prohibit “impairment” at work rather than “any detectable level”?

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