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Q&A

Must manager release notes on performance when employee requests personnel file?

05/13/2008
Q. One of our managers keeps notes of performance issues in a file that he uses for completing performance appraisals. One person he supervises has made a written request to see her personnel file—and specifically asked for information in the manager’s file. Do we have to give the notes to the employee? …

What are the rules on parenting leave for small employers?

05/13/2008
Q. We are a small shop with 15 employees. One of our full-time employees who has been with us for more than five years recently announced that his wife is pregnant. He requested eight weeks’ leave after the baby is born. Are we required to give him this leave? …

The pitfalls of providing references

05/13/2008
Q. Why is it that so many companies refuse to give references for former employees? …

Enforce overtime approval policies—But pay for all hours worked

05/09/2008

Q. Our company policy requires an employee’s supervisor to approve all overtime. However it’s common for employees to work overtime that has not been approved; time they then record on their time sheets. Since the overtime was never approved, our management takes the position that it does not need to pay for this overtime. My understanding is that all hours worked must be paid. Which is correct? …

MIOSHA can’t cite company again pending appeal of original citation

05/09/2008
Q. Our company has been cited by the Department of Labor for what it considers to be a violation of a MIOSHA safety standard. We are appealing the citation, which we understand could take months or even a year or more to be resolved. Our citation contains an abatement date, but we don’t think we have to make the changes suggested because we still believe there was no violation of the standard. Can MIOSHA cite us again for the same condition because we have not abated the contested safety violation? …

Must we offer the same position to a temp worker returning from FMLA leave?

05/09/2008
Q. We lease some of our workers from an agency. The agency handles all personnel needs of its employees, but our supervisors provide day-to-day direction to the workers. One of our agency employees, Jane, informed the agency that she was taking FMLA leave for her pregnancy. While Jane was out on leave, the agency supplied us with a replacement, Mary. Jane’s FMLA leave is over, and the agency wants to send her back. We would prefer to keep Mary. Does the FMLA oblige us to let Mary go and bring Jane back? …

Absent without leave: Can we fire for violating vacation policy?

05/06/2008
Q. We recently could not reach an employee who works off-site. Then we learned he was responding to customer messages by saying he was on vacation. After we learned this, he contacted his supervisor and said he had been on vacation and would be on vacation the rest of the week. His supervisor reports that he had not requested vacation time beforehand—and our policy states that vacation time must be preapproved. This employee had been a marginal performer, and now his supervisor wants to fire him. Can we fire him for this? …

Kids will be kids: Inappropriate workplace behavior and teenage workers

05/06/2008

Q. Some of our employees are teenagers who work part time while they go to school. Often, this is their first job. Some of them don’t seem to understand proper behavior in the work environment. They usually are OK with customers, but when they are interacting with each other, they give each other a hard time. Verbal put-downs and even physical acts are common. Does this create any potential problems? …

Hourly computer programmers and overtime pay

05/06/2008
Q. We employ computer programmers who write sophisticated custom software programs for clients. We bill their services by the hour and pay them by the hour, based on their experience and the work involved. The hourly rates we pay range from $30 to $80 per hour. Sometimes, there is a rush on a project and the programmers have to work overtime. Do we have to pay time and a half the hourly rate if the programmers work over 40 hours per week? ….

Do we need an attorney to represent us during unemployment comp hearings?

05/05/2008
Q. Should a Texas employer hire an attorney to represent it in an unemployment compensation proceeding where the claimant is represented by counsel?