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Ask the Attorney Archives

What are the basics of handling an employee’s retirement?

01/18/2013

Q. What am I required to do when an employee notifies me that he or she is retiring? – Jennifer, Indiana

Employee deserves comp time–but on whose timetable?

01/18/2013
Q. I know if employees request comp time off, I can deny it if it’s a hardship on the department, and then offer them alternate dates. But can I make employees take comp time when I want them to? Say an employee has 60 hours on the books and I want them to get that time off. Can I pick the dates they must take it, even if they do not want those dates off? – Jackey, Georgia

When do consultants simply become staff?

01/18/2013
Q. We have some paid consultants who have been working for us for two years. Are there any ramifications if we were to refer to these consultants as ‘staff’, even going so far as to enter them in a national database as our staff? For example, could they then possibly sue us for benefits or pay? – Becky, Nevada

Worker won’t abide by doctor’s orders: Can we terminate?

01/07/2013
Q: I have a Rules of Conduct Policy which is progressive and categorized by the seriousness of the offense. Can the failure or refusal of an employee receiving worker’s compensation benefits to follow the course of treatment prescribed by the worker’s comp doctor be included as a Rules of Conduct violation allowing me to terminate that employee if the failure/refusal continues? For instance, if the employee fails to attend physical therapy as prescribed but continues to complain of pain and is unable to return to regular work? – Sallie, Pennsylvania

What are the finer points of approaching layoffs?

01/07/2013
Q. We will be experiencing staff reductions for the first time. We are a nonprofit healthcare organization in New Jersey with approximately 600 employees. We do not know how many people will be affected by the layoff yet, but I want to know if there are state or federal laws that I should be aware of, as well as any policies. Do we need to reduce by seniority or can we reduce by performance, or for budgetary reasons? Can we lay off someone if it is not cost effective to continue that particular position?  – Nancy, New Jersey

Is there reason to fear a lawsuit from an employee who egregiously violates our policy?

01/07/2013
Q. We just hired a new M.A. and found out on her first week of employment that she was a registered nurse and her license has been suspended. She was let go from her last job. She did not tell us this, and of course we did not ask. Our manual states dishonesty and also drug use as criteria for firing. Her license was suspended for possession of drugs (marijuana). Part of her probation mandates that she cannot practice nursing until licensed by the N.C. Board of Nursing for 24 months. Based on this information, is it “safe” to let her go immediately or are we setting ourselves up for a lawsuit? – Joyce, North Carolina

A degree is required–but does a raise hinge on it?

01/07/2013
Q. If a job description states “a Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent work experience” as a qualification and an employee has proven he/she can do everything the job description entails and then some, is it legal to tell them the raise (within reason) cannot be justified to the board of directors because they do not have a college degree? – Cyndi, Missouri

When is it necessary to tax employee gifts?

01/07/2013
Q. At what amount do you need to tax gift cards or any other gift? Say you give employees an iPad worth $500. Is that taxable?  – Jennifer, Indiana

Does a drug charge always warrant a drug screen?

01/07/2013
Q: If we see in the local paper that one of our employees has been charged with possession of an illegal substance, is that enough cause to have him/her take a drug screen? – Ed, Nebraska

What to do in the face of a wrongful termination claim?

12/10/2012

Q. We just let an employee go after less than a year of employment, due to her attitude toward her co-workers. Before we could even get into the why (bullying), she abruptly left. She is now threatening to sue us for “wrongful termination” unless we hire her back, and she also stated she “wanted to get the office manager fired.” I would appreciate any suggestions on how we should handle this situation. – Laura, Illinois