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

Ask the Attorney Archives

Before company event, should we require staff to sign a waiver?

08/06/2010

Q. “Every year our company employees and their families take a trip to a theme park (50 or so people). The company rents the bus, pays for admission, food, hotels, etc. Should our company have our employees and families sign a waiver to release the company from any liability while we are on this trip?” — M.M., New York

Can we dock an exempt worker’s pay if he’s suspended from work?

08/03/2010
Q: “This question deals with docking an exempt employee’s weekly pay. I know that if an exempt employee works any part of a week, the employee receives the entire week’s salary. But let’s say the employee works on Monday, and gets suspended from work from Tuesday to Friday. The employee has no sick leave/vacation time balances remaining. Does the employee receive one day or five days of pay?” — S.C., California

Will waivers protect us from liability during a staff trip to the ballpark?

07/26/2010
Q: “We are taking our staff to a baseball game for Staff Appreciation Day. It is completely optional, and they can choose to remain at work or take a leave day if they don’t want to participate. Question: If one of them should get injured during this event, is the organization liable (through workers’ comp, etc)? If so, should we have them sign waivers before the outing that would relieve the organization of liability?”—S.N., D.C.

Can convicted felons work in health care settings?

07/26/2010
Q: “Can a convicted felon be hired to work in a clerical position at a pharmacy?”—D.S., Arizona.

Can we rescind a job offer if we learn new hire violates our nepotism policy?

07/19/2010
Q:  “Can we rescind a conditional job offer if we have an existing nepotism policy and information regarding the candidate’s family ties are revealed after we make the job offer? Also, what is the legal implication of having a nepotism policy?” — Anonymous,  FL

If doctor is out for extended time, can we lay off his staff?

07/19/2010
Q: “Our head physician is having a surgical procedure and should only be out for two weeks. If, for some reason, he is unable to return to work for a month or two, are there any guidelines as to how to handle his employee situation? Can we lay them off temporarily and can they draw unemployment during that time? Or do most disability policies cover employees and expenses during the time a doctor is out on medical leave?” —  J.M, North Carolina

Can we split up our company to avoid the 100-employee threshold?

07/19/2010
Q:  “Our company is comprised of three different retail stores (different store names and products) all are under one tax ID number. We’re teetering at 104 full-time employees. There are so many tax incentives and grants given to companies with fewer employees, and health care reform will be affecting a company our size. Would we be able to break the company into three different tax ID numbers in order to reap the benefits smaller companies receive? For example, in January there are wellness program grants being given to employers implementing wellness initiatives with under 100 employees. I would love to have funds to implement such a program but I’m not about to encourage cutting staff.” — A., Illinois

When can we require employees to take fitness-for-duty tests?

07/12/2010
Q. We have an employee who we believe is having frequent seizures. She has a history of seizures of which we are aware, but she indicated that it was a one-time event. She asked co-workers not to call 911 when she has an episode. Her job includes responsible for children who are three and four years old. I fear that her condition may cause her to be unable to supervise the children effectively. Can we request she see a Neurological physician for a check up and clearance for duty? — A.G., Virginia

What’s the best way to have an employee in India?

07/06/2010
Q. “We are looking to hire a nonimmigrant employee who lives in India. He will be working from home in India. We need a presence in the country, but due to the development nature of our company, we were rejected to have a representative office there. We need to know the implications for us.” — Y.J, New Jersey

Form I-9: What should I do if employee’s documentation has discrepancies?

06/28/2010
Q. We have a new employee that provided a state-issued ID and a Social Security card as forms of identification for his I-9 Form. The employee’s middle initial on the S.S. card does not match the middle name on the state ID. Any help as to how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.