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Joseph Beachboard

“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?"

What’s the rule for paying when employees clock in or out slightly before or after work?

01/14/2010

Q. If my employees clock in before their starting time and clock out after their day is scheduled to end, am I required to pay them for that extra time?

Can I regulate how our e-mail system is used for union matters?

01/14/2010

Q. Can I prohibit an employee from using the company’s e-mail system for union-organizing purposes?

Is it legal to dock pay for employee foul-ups?

01/14/2010

Q. Can I deduct the cost of an employee’s error from his or her paycheck?

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

Is an employee’s refusal to cooperate with an internal investigation a firing offense?

12/14/2009

Q. We have an employee who has declined to cooperate in a workplace investigation into an issue that could threaten our company’s operations. Can we terminate the employee for insubordination?

Can we prohibit employees from receiving private packages at work?

12/09/2009

Q. Over the holidays, many of our employees received packages at the office. We are worried that this might be a disruption. Should we ban employees from receiving personal packages at work?