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Q&A

Allow BYOB at work celebrations?

06/01/2007

Q. We are an accounting firm. At the end of a grueling tax season, we celebrate with a company party. We’ve stopped supplying alcohol due to liability concerns. But could we allow employees to BYOB? We’d never let employees leave drunk, but could we be sued if they cause an accident?—J.J., Missouri

Post-Birth FMLA Leave: Can it be taken in shifts?

06/01/2007

Q. I know employees welcoming a new child into the family can take FMLA leave within 12 months of the child’s birth. But what if the employee takes just eight weeks after birth and returns to work? Can she take another four weeks of FMLA leave about six months later (i.e., still within the child’s first 12 months of life)?—L.O., Texas

FMLA time used up? Consider ADA before firing

06/01/2007

Q. An employee already took his 12 weeks of FMLA leave, but his doctors say he needs three to six weeks more. I want to terminate him because he isn’t ready to return. What’s the best way to go about it?—B.H., Florida

Striking employees forfeit unemployment comp

06/01/2007

Q. We are in contract negotiations, and there is some concern that our employees will actually vote to go out on strike. Are striking employees eligible for unemployment compensation benefits in Michigan?—F.B.

Docking pay isn’t legal; rounding time normally is

06/01/2007

Q. Is it permissible to dock pay for someone who clocks in late? We pay the employee for actual hours worked to the nearest quarter hour, but we also dock tardy employees an additional quarter hour.—P.P.

Cell phones in plant: Must we bargain with union?

06/01/2007

Q. Our company has a union contract with work rules. We also have the right in the contract to change the work rules, which the union can grieve. We recently exercised our right to add a new rule prohibiting cell phones in the plant. The union hasn’t filed a grievance, but it has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board. It claims that we are obligated to bargain over the new rule. Are we obligated to bargain over a new rule like this?—R.S.

Michigan OSHA inspection

06/01/2007

Q. Michigan’s labor department has sent us a letter stating that a MIOSHA safety officer will be coming to inspect our facility regarding an employee’s safety complaint. Are we obligated to let the safety officer come into our plant and question our employees? Will the officer tell us who filed the complaint?—C.B.

Pregnancy and ADA

06/01/2007

Q. An employee we hired two months ago has been absent frequently. She just informed us that: She is three months pregnant; is often too sick to work due to her pregnancy; has been told by her doctor that she can work only part-time for the next several months; and might be on bed rest for the last two months of her pregnancy. It is necessary for her to perform her job on a full-time basis without excessive absences. Is pregnancy covered under the ADA? Can we terminate her to hire someone who will be there full-time?

Returning company property

06/01/2007

Q. Our employee handbook states: “If you do not return a piece of property, we will withhold from your final paycheck the cost of replacing that piece of property.” One of our employees recently quit on the spot. The employee was given a termination letter that cited the employee handbook section on unreturned property. He admitted he could not find his handbook—even accused management of having it. My boss wants to almost double the actual replacement cost of the item and call it “staff time spent getting the item.” Can we do this?

Same job, new management: Are employees covered by the FMLA?

06/01/2007

Q. What is the policy on FMLA for workers who are employed by a county facility that puts their contracts out for bids? Let’s say the workers are employed by the first successful bidder for, say, three years and then the contract is re-bid. Another company wins the bid, takes over the job and keeps the same employees. Do their hours worked carry over even though it is a different employer? I could not find a reference to this problem in the FMLA guidelines.