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

Payroll

Xerox employees buy time off through payroll deduction

11/01/2007

Employees at Xerox can buy extra vacation time through a payroll deduction. Instead of paying for the extra vacation time all at once, employees can make weekly or monthly fixed-rate installments through payroll deductions …

Green light to discipline managers who doctor time cards

11/01/2007

In today’s litigious environment, it doesn’t take much for a disgruntled employee to launch a class-action overtime lawsuit. In fact, such litigation is sweeping the country—and costing employers millions of dollars. That’s why conscientious employers act fast to stamp out a dangerous and illegal practice: managers altering pay records to avoid paying overtime. If you catch managers cooking the payroll books, punish them promptly …

How to handle missed time-clock punches

11/01/2007

Q. At our office, if an employee misses a time-clock punch, his pay for that day is suspended until he receives his check stub. The employee must then fill out a missed time-card punch form and have it signed by a senior partner. The missed pay is then applied to the person’s next pay period. Is this legal? — D.L., Virginia …

Timing on final paychecks

11/01/2007

Q. When is an employer required to give a worker his final paycheck? …

What to do after salaried employee maxes out leave

11/01/2007

Q. I have a salaried employee who used all his vacation and sick time. He is allowed a total of 21 days and has used 22, but he wants to take more vacation in November and is always sick (so he’ll probably be out more). Can I deduct his pay if he’s out more? Or can I take days from next year? This may be an ongoing thing every year …

Pay correct, timely wages in NC or risk double damages

10/01/2007

North Carolina’s Wage and Hour Act says that if you fail to pay workers what they’re due, they can sue for those unpaid (or late) wages, plus a penalty of double what was due. Your only defense to double damages: proof that you acted in good faith and reasonably—a tough task …

How soon must NC employers pay final checks?

10/01/2007

Q. We have an employee whom we fired on a Monday and we paid him his final check on the next regular payday (the following Friday). He said we legally had to issue his final check within 48 hours of the firing. Is that true?—M.D. …

Don’t dock last paycheck for ‘Stolen’ laptop

10/01/2007

Q. Our company recently terminated an employee for violating company policy. At the time of his termination, he had a company laptop, which he refuses to return. Can we withhold his final paycheck pending the return of the company equipment? Or, can we deduct the value of the equipment from his final paycheck? —S.F. …

Collecting for damaged equipment

10/01/2007

Q. We recently terminated an employee and subsequently learned that he damaged company equipment through his own negligence. My boss wants to deduct the cost to repair the damage from his final paycheck. Is this legal? …

When employee keeps our property, can we deduct from the last paycheck?

10/01/2007

Q. If an employee quits or is terminated and refuses to return employer property—such as a pager or a cell phone—can the employer deduct the value of the property from the employee’s final paycheck? …