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Q&A

Are there legal risks in capping salaries?

02/24/2009

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?

Do gift cards count as taxable income?

02/24/2009

Q. We plan to give gasoline gift cards to employees as incentives for picking up additional shifts. Are these cards taxable? Can we, the employer, simply pay the employees’ portion of the taxes?

How should I deal with disrespectful employee?

02/24/2009

Q. One of our employees constantly twists around everything I say to make the situation seem worse than it is. For example, when I put her paycheck on the counter because she was busy, she told others that I threw it at her. She has lied about many incidents. I have spoken with her several times and indicated that her actions are unprofessional and disrespectful. This is not good for my reputation. I need a solution about how to deal with this employee.

Can we be liable for revoking a job offer?

02/19/2009

Q. We recently made a job offer to someone, rescinded the offer and then hired another applicant two months later. Is there anything illegal about that?

What if worker objects to her name on holiday card?

02/19/2009

Q. An employee objected to us putting her name (just her first name!) on our company’s “Holiday Greetings from Our Staff” card. She said she doesn’t celebrate holidays for religious reasons and using her name without permission was illegal. The boss said she should “get over it.” Did we set ourselves up for a lawsuit?

Can we ask about green card expiration date?

02/19/2009

Q. Can we ask an applicant or employee how long his ‘‘green card’’ is good for?

Should we limit use of personal phones while driving?

02/19/2009

Q. We have field employees who use their own cell phones on the job. Do we need to establish a policy on cell phone usage, even though the phones aren’t ours and aren’t required by us?

What are our legal options? It turns out, an employee who is suing us was a thief!

02/12/2009

Q. Our company is being sued by an employee for discrimination. During the lawsuit proceedings, we discovered that he had been stealing from us. Do we have any recourse?

Can we cut our legal risk by offering unconditional reinstatement?

02/12/2009

Q. If an employee is suing our company, what are the benefits of offering her job back while the litigation is ongoing?

Is it OK to pay hourly workers comp time instead of overtime?

02/12/2009

Q. Is it legal for my company to pay our hourly employees comp time instead of paying time-and-a-half for overtime worked?