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Q&A

Can we dock pay for punching in late? Does the employee have a grace period?

03/01/2008
Q. Is there a rule for docking someone’s pay if he punches in late, and if so, how many minutes grace time does he get before you dock him 15 minutes?

What questions are off limits when talking to references and past employers?

03/01/2008
 Q. I understand that it’s illegal to ask applicants certain personal questions. But are there any questions I can’t ask a reference or previous employer? …

How many employees make a ‘Group’ for OWBPA purposes?

03/01/2008
Q. I recently read that the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) requires that we provide an employee who has been discharged as part of a “group” termination at least 45 days to consider the terms of a release waiving his or her rights under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. How many employees constitute a group? …

Getting reimbursed for terminated employees’ personal calls

03/01/2008
Q. A recently discharged employee exceeded his monthly allotment of minutes for personal calls on his company-issued cell phone. Can we recoup the cost of these extra minutes by withholding the amount from his paycheck? …

What to do? Doctor’s appointments seems awfully conveniently scheduled

03/01/2008
Q. We don’t usually require employees to provide notes when they take time off for doctors’ appointments. However, one of our employees is known for scheduling her “appointments” on the Friday before holiday weekends. Can we request verification from the doctor’s office on a case-by-case basis?

Employer responsibilities when subpoena demands personnel files

03/01/2008
Q. What should the employer do when an employee’s personnel file is subpoenaed? …

Recouping training costs when workers leave

03/01/2008
Q. It costs a lot to train new employees, so naturally we are upset when those employees leave. They benefit from the training, and we are out the cost. Can we recover training costs if an employee leaves? …

Can we mandate direct deposit?

03/01/2008
Q. We’d like to get away from paper payroll checks. May an employer require employees to receive wage payments by direct deposit only? …

How long must we retain the records on former employees?

03/01/2008
Q. We’re drowning in paper and have pretty high turnover. That means we keep records for lots of former employees. How long is an employer required to keep employment records and notices under state law? …

Binding employees to noncompete agreements

03/01/2008
Q. We want to bind existing employees to a new noncompete agreement. Can we simply make agreeing to the contract a condition for continued employment? …