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Compensation & Benefits

How to spot a dishonest purchasing manager

07/01/2004
Issue: Employees handling your organization’s purse strings could be pulling them in the wrong way. Risk: Lax controls leave your organization wide open to invoice fraud. Action: Suggest the …

Get tough with habitually absent employees

07/01/2004

Q. We have a new administrative employee in our pediatric office who missed 22 days of work in her first nine weeks. She has doctor excuses for illnesses for most of the days, but my front office is in shambles. Can I put her on written warning for excessive absences? Can I terminate her? —C.F., Georgia

Rethink exemption status of traveling sales rep

07/01/2004

Q. We employ sales and service reps who travel and service stores around the country. They work from their home offices, use their own cars and communicate with us via phone. We classify them as exempt. Is this correct? (Most reps are required to spend at least eight hours at each location. Some drive three hours or longer to get to each store. We encourage overnight stays under these circumstances.) —L.C., Oklahoma

Don’t pay for rest breaks beyond 20 minutes

07/01/2004

Q. Is it mandatory for a nonexempt employee to take at least a 20-minute meal break after working a certain number of hours? —M.M., Illinois

Employees rarely win emotional distress lawsuits.

07/01/2004
When a pharmacist sued for unpaid overtime, he also added an “emotional distress” claim, saying the company’s failure to pay overtime caused him to resign. The court didn’t buy it, saying …

Continued employment may be enough to make noncompetes legal

06/01/2004
If you ask employees to sign an agreement not to compete with your organization for a certain length of time after they leave, the agreement isn’t binding unless you offer the …

Silence pay-related complaints with wise words

06/01/2004
How do the employees at your organization feel about their compensation? If the answer is “Not good,” a bit of explanation from you can calm those troubled waters. Fact: Only 45 …

You can trim health benefits for Medicare-eligible retirees

06/01/2004
If your organization offers health insurance to retired employees, an important new Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ruling says you can reduce or eliminate those benefits after the ex-employee becomes eligible …

Court: Employee ‘on-duty errands’ broaden your legal risk

06/01/2004
Issue: Are you liable for employees’ actions when they run personal errands while on company business? Risk: A new court ruling says “Yes,” raising your legal risks with people who …

Make Full-Day Deductions, Not Partial, for Exempt Staff

06/01/2004

Q. If an exempt employee uses all her sick time and vacation time, then takes a half day off for personal reasons, can I deduct for that half day, or does it have to be a whole day? Has that changed under the new law? —Barbara, Louisiana