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Employment Law

Steer clear of cutting sick worker’s job in half

12/01/2003

Q. One of our full-time employees, age 60, is ill and expected to be out six months. We’d like to make her position part time, because we need to hire an additional part-timer in another department. Essentially, we’d like to split her full-time job into two part-time positions. Is this legal? —D.H., Texas

Don’t mandate direct deposit of employees’ pay

12/01/2003
Issue: Some state rules seem to clash with federal rules over whether you can require employees to accept pay via direct deposit.
Risk: By following your state law, in some …

Be careful how you answer pleas for overtime pay

12/01/2003
Issue: If you’re sued for unpaid overtime pay, your damages can mount quickly if the court sees a “willful” violation. Risk: The FLSA enables courts to award employees up to …

Only 3 full days of incapacity will trigger FMLA leave

12/01/2003
Issue: Court raises threshold for employees to qualify for FMLA leave. Benefit: Workers can take FMLA leave if they have a serious condition causing three consecutive full days of incapacity, …

When can you ask employees about their prescriptions?

12/01/2003
Issue: The Staten Island Ferry crash in October raised the issue of when you can investigate employees’ prescription use. Risk: You could spark an ADA suit by asking too many …

You can’t make employees contribute to charity

12/01/2003

Q. Is it legal for us to strongly encourage our employees to have money withheld from their paychecks to support a charity drive, like the United Way? —L.M., Texas

Give notice before changing benefit terms

12/01/2003

Q. Currently, our company pays 70 percent of employees’ health insurance premiums. But we need to either decrease the percentage or possibly ask employees to pay the entire premium. How much notice must we give employees before making such a change? —D.O., Louisiana

Schools aren’t exempt from wage-and-Hour laws

12/01/2003

Q. At our university, the special-events supervisors must occasionally hire people. We currently don’t pay for their time involved in interviewing job candidates. I think we should pay them for that time, but I was told education institutions are exempt from pay laws. Is that true? —D.D., West Virginia

Employees comparing pay? Don’t try to muzzle them

12/01/2003
Issue: About a third of all organizations prohibit employees from discussing pay with one another. Risk: Such confidentiality policies likely violate …

Job applications: what to include, what to leave out

12/01/2003
Issue: Done right, your job application is a great tool to collect applicant information and communicate key data about your organization. Risk: Unnecessary questions can run you afoul of federal …