Ask the Attorney Archives

If a timesheet is late, can we defer OT payment to next paycheck?

02/16/2010

Q. "Several employees habitually turn in their timesheets late. Can we tell them that if their timesheet is not turned in on time, any overtime on that week’s timesheet will not be paid until the next pay period? We’d like to quit ‘babysitting’ employees, but don’t know if taking this stand will violate any payroll laws." — A.B., Arizona

Can we fire an employee who’s out on workers’ comp leave?

02/08/2010

Q. "Our company provides physical therapy services to nursing homes. One of our therapists has gone out on worker’s comp. The facility say things are running much smoother without her (they don’t ‘like her’) and have asked not to have her back. We don’t have a placement for her elsewhere. Can we terminate her?" – D., California

So what does an ‘at-will state’ mean anyway?

02/02/2010

Q. What does the phrase "at-will state" mean? Is it just to allow unions under the Taft act? I have an employee who was verbally harassed at work and had his job threatened by being told, "I will have you gone by day’s end." I asked the N.C. Dept of Labor and they said the only items covered are EEO definitions (race, color and/or violence in the workplace). Are they correct? Very confused.

“Is it illegal to yell at employees?”

01/25/2010

Q. "A few of our physicians like using their power by yelling at employees in front of other co-workers. Is there anything we can bring to the board of directors to stop this type of behavior?" — K, Virginia

Do holiday hours count toward overtime calculation?

01/19/2010

Q. "One of our employees worked 35.5 hours from Monday to Thursday. Friday was a holiday. Our policy has always been to not incude the eight hours of holiday pay toward overtime. We paid the employee 43.5 straight time. Is this legal?"

Does FMLA 1,250-hour threshold count “hours worked” or “hours scheduled”?

01/11/2010

Q. I realize that to be eligible for FMLA leave, employees must have worked at least 1,250 hours in the past year and have been employed by us for one year. My question is: Can I base eligibility on "hours scheduled" (including hours not worked)? Our Customer Contact Center periodicallly sends employees home early when the call volume is slow. That could mean some employees won’t reach 1,250 hours in a year. I don’t want to risk a charge that we intentionally sent an individual home so that their hours would fall below 1,250. — O., NC

What qualifies someone as an ‘exempt’ employee?

12/21/2009

Q. Exactly what qualifies someone as an "exempt" employee?

If employee is driving for work, must we get proof of driver’s license and insurance?

12/14/2009

Q. Do we have to get proof of an employee’s driver’s license and insurance if he’ll be driving for work? — P., Texas

Same job, different pay: Is that legal?

12/07/2009

Q. We have two employees who have the same job title, job description and functions. We pay one a flat salary ($120,000). We pay the other a base salary, plus a fixed rate for hours that are billable to the customer ($70,000, plus $20 for every billable hour). Can we do this or should their salary structures be identical?

Are pre-employment tests (driving, welding, etc.) covered under our workers’ comp or the applicant’s personal health insurance?

11/30/2009

Q. Is an applicant’s pre-employment skills test (driving test for truck drivers, welding tests, other testing) covered under the employer’s workers’ compensation? Or, because there has not been an established employer/employee relationship, does it fall to the applicant’s health insurance? — R.H., Nebraska