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Compensation & Benefits

Handle absence problems correctly; learn ADA, FMLA interplay

06/01/2006

If an employee has attendance problems due to health issues, those absences may not be covered by the ADA even if they’re covered by the FMLA. That’s especially true if regular attendance is an essential job function …

All day Sunday off may be a reasonable accommodation

06/01/2006

If you require employees to work Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays, be aware that some employees may object on religious grounds. If they do, you’re required by Title VII to make reasonable ccommodations for sincerely held religious beliefs. And, surprisingly, that right may extend to the entire day off, not just long enough to attend religious services …

Apply good judgment to legal considerations

06/01/2006

Q. An employee left work on a Monday due to an illness. She called in sick Tuesday and Wednesday, but we heard nothing on Thursday or Friday. Our policy calls for termination if the employee doesn’t contact us within three days. We posted her job on Friday and decided to terminate her. On Monday, her fiancé called to tell us she was pregnant and had complications that led to a hospital visit. We got a note from her OB-GYN saying she’d been seen, but not indicating when she could return. What should we do to avoid any legal fall out? —K.A., New York

Must We Give Time Off for ‘Witness Duty’?

06/01/2006

Q. We have an employee who has been subpoenaed to appear as a witness in a criminal case. She obviously has no choice but to go. Are we required to pay her while she is off, or can we have her take vacation time or an unpaid leave of absence? —C.S., Pennsylvania

A Costly Lesson in Allowing Off-the-Clock Work

06/01/2006

Make sure supervisors understand what counts as "paid time" and remind them that they should not encourage employees to work off the clock. Example of the risk: Compass Bank of Birmingham, Ala., recently shelled out more than $1 million in unpaid overtime to 2,961 employees …

Feds Standardize Process for ‘Abandoned’ 401(k) Plans

06/01/2006

Each year, an average of 1,650 sponsors of 401(k) plans abandon their plans, often because the employer goes out of business or merges with another. When that happened, the U.S. Labor typically petitioned the courts to take control of the plan and distribute the 401(k) assets to employees. But new Labor Department rules streamline that process …

Rid handbooks of risky outdated policies

06/01/2006

If it’s been awhile since the last overhaul of your employee handbook, you may be courting danger. Establish a regular revision schedule for your handbook, updating it once a year or whenever significant statutory changes occur …

Professional exemption limited when applied to medical staff

06/01/2006

Don’t assume that medical employees with advanced training and licenses meet the FLSA’s "learned profession" exemption, which allows employers to pay lawyers and doctors by the hour and still not pay them …

Capping Salaries Won’t Violate Age-Bias Law

06/01/2006

Q. I have a question about capping employees’ salaries when they reach the top of the pay scale. I’m concerned because the only employees affected are those with many years of service and who happen to be over age 40. Have we made a legal error? Some of the affected employees are angry and have mentioned discrimination based on the residual effect of the cap. —M.M., California

Paying for driving time depends on departure point

06/01/2006

Q. We have a sports reporter (an hourly employee) who is being sent to cover a state tournament. Should we pay for the time it takes her to drive to the event and back? —D.L., Washington