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

Compensation & Benefits

Workers’ comp department improves web forms

07/01/2007

The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation, recently improved the functionality of more than 90 forms posted on its web site …

UPS drivers win class-Action settlement for back meal-Break pay

07/01/2007

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has approved an $87 million settlement in a case brought by former and current UPS drivers …

Public sector employees entitled to paid time off to donate blood

07/01/2007

Q. We have an employee who insists that he is entitled to take off a full eight-hour day with pay to donate blood. What is the law in Georgia regarding an employee’s right to take paid leave for this purpose?

Punishing exempt worker who exceeds leave time

07/01/2007

Q. Can we deduct something from an exempt employee’s pay if he takes time off, comes in late or leaves early after he’s used up all of his leave time?

Time off for special-needs child

07/01/2007

Q. Our office secretary is the backbone of our company. Her son is in special education, and she periodically asks for time off to attend various school conferences and meetings about his progress. I don’t want to be stingy, but her absences really create problems for us. Do I have to allow her to take time off for these meetings?

How to prevent employees from abusing PTO leave

07/01/2007

A reader of our e-mail newsletter, HR Weekly, recently posed this question:  “We allow employees to take paid time off (PTO) in hourly increments, but they often use PTO when running late in the morning or for unexpected ‘appointments.’ How can we get a rein on our PTO leave?”

Count only hours actually worked for eligibility

07/01/2007

Do you have special incentive programs to make weekend work attractive to employees? If your program pays workers “credit hours” for time not actually worked, you don’t have to include those hours toward FMLA eligibility …

Longer shifts allow employees an extra day off every 2 weeks

07/01/2007

Most employees cherish their occasional three-day weekends, but for production employees at Milwaukee-based Quad/Graphics, it’s the norm. The company runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the 8,000 production employees work a 46-hour week. Working 12-hour shifts, they alternate between three days on/four days off and four days on/three days off …

‘Chronic’ FMLA leave causing HR headaches

07/01/2007

If you’re having trouble determining when you must grant FMLA leave to employees who suffer recurring health problems, you’re not alone. Nearly two-thirds of HR professionals say they’ve experienced such problems, leading to morale issues and productivity loss …

Don’t institute payroll deductions without employees’ consent

07/01/2007

Q. Our plant manager wants to implement a policy requiring employees to pay for lost or damaged equipment through payroll deductions. Can we do that?