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Q&A

What is California’s law concerning time off to attend school activities?

08/26/2009

Q. Many of our employees have children who will return to school this month. Are we required to grant these employees time off for school-related activities?

Should we send FMLA forms to employees who are ineligible for FMLA leave?

08/26/2009

Q. An employee who’s been employed since May is out on workers’ comp and will be for a while. Do I send her FMLA paperwork even though she hasn’t met the criteria of being employed for at least a year? It’s my understanding that I should send it to everyone who requests leave, and only after they return the paperwork should I determine if the person is, in fact, eligible.

Can we mandate EAP counseling when employee views porn at work?

08/26/2009

Q. Our Internet policy says that if we find employees accessing pornographic web sites, they’ll receive a three-day suspension without pay and a mandatory referral to an EAP counselor. Can we require this?

Can we recoup training costs by withholding pay from an employee’s last paycheck?

08/26/2009

Q. We’ve started requiring employees to repay (through payroll deduction) training costs if they quit or are fired within one year. Are we OK legally?

Are drug testing programs constitutional?

08/26/2009

Q. An employee says our drug testing program violates his constitutional rights. What can I tell him to prove that we’re well within the law?

How do we compensate for out-of-town seminar?

08/26/2009

Q. How should we compensate an hourly employee for an out-of-town, two-day (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) seminar? In particular, should we pay for the hours during the overnight hotel stay, since the employee must sleep there to be ready for the next day’s session?

Must we allow (or stop) Bible study at work?

08/20/2009

Q. An employee sent a companywide e-mail inviting employees to attend a morning prayer and Bible study prior to work that will be held on the company premises. Do we have to allow this (or do we have to shut it down)?

Same job, different pay: Is that legal?

08/20/2009

Q. We have two employees who have the same job title, job description and functions. We pay one a flat salary ($120,000). We pay the other a base salary plus a fixed rate for hours that are billable to the customer ($70,000, plus $20 for every billable hour). Can we do this or should their salary structures be identical?

Are we liable for injuries to the cleaning crew?

08/20/2009

Q. We employ a husband/wife team to clean our office. We pay them on a monthly contract basis and provide a Form 1099 at year-end. Would we be liable for an injury they might suffer while cleaning?

Reducing salaries: The impact on exempt status

08/20/2009

Q. Legally, is there a difference between exempt employees “volunteering” their time or being required to reduce their salaries (or work hours) during these slow economic times?