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  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Carl Crosby Lehmann

What break time rules do we need to follow?

11/15/2012

Q. We are changing our break policy. What breaks are required and can I require employees to take an unpaid meal break?

How long should an agency investigation take?

10/12/2012

Q. A discrimination charge was filed against my company almost two years ago. We responded to the charge and provided the requested information. We haven’t heard anything for more than 18 months. My boss is worried and wants the process over with. Should I try to find out what’s going on, or just leave it alone?

How should I handle a rude investigator?

10/12/2012

Q. I’m dealing with an enforcement agency investigator who is really rude. She accuses me of hiding information, threatens to subpoena information and says things like, “I know all about your company and how it treats minorities.” She’s been calling my managers at home and demanding that they answer questions. What do I do? Am I going to make things worse if I complain about her behavior?

Should we take up the EEOC on its offer to mediate a complaint?

10/12/2012
Q. The EEOC wants us to participate in mediation. Should we? If we don’t, will it make the investigator think we’re trying to hide something?

What’s going on? It seems like we’re being investigated twice for bias

10/12/2012
Q. We received a charge from the EEOC and we’re dealing with it. Now we’ve received correspondence from the state equal opportunity agency, too. What’s up? Are we going to be investigated twice?

Can severance deal address unemployment?

09/17/2012
Q. We want to terminate an underperforming employee and are considering offering a severance agreement in which we agree not to contest unemployment benefits and he agrees to resign and release the company from any claims. Is that OK?

What should we do about consensual relationship between manager and subordinate?

09/17/2012
Q. We just found out that one of our managers is having a consensual sexual relationship with someone who reports directly to him. If we confirm with the subordinate that she believes the relationship is consensual, do we need to do anything else?

Facebook could prove our employee lied! How far can we go to gain access?

09/17/2012

Q. One our employees called in sick for a shift during a recent holiday weekend. He told several co-workers that he didn’t come to work because he was having so much fun at his cabin. According to a few co-workers, he made several Facebook posts about his various recreational activities on the day that he was allegedly too sick to work … Can I ask one of the co-workers to show me the Facebook posts?

If an employee is injured at a company picnic, would that be covered by workers’ comp?

08/13/2012

Q. We are considering holding, off-site at a park, a “Company Olympics” event featuring sports such as softball and tennis. If an employee were to be injured while participating, would that be considered a workers’ compensation-covered injury? Would it matter if participation was voluntary?

Fired sales rep did not return our iPad! Can we deduct its value from his last check?

08/13/2012
Q. We recently fired a veteran sales representative on short notice. He still has a new iPad that we purchased to help make sales presentations. We have repeatedly asked him to return the iPad, but he is ignoring our requests. Can we now just deduct the cost from his last paycheck?