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Q&A

Paying for driving time depends on departure point

06/01/2006

Q. We have a sports reporter (an hourly employee) who is being sent to cover a state tournament. Should we pay for the time it takes her to drive to the event and back? —D.L., Washington

Apply good judgment to legal considerations

06/01/2006

Q. An employee left work on a Monday due to an illness. She called in sick Tuesday and Wednesday, but we heard nothing on Thursday or Friday. Our policy calls for termination if the employee doesn’t contact us within three days. We posted her job on Friday and decided to terminate her. On Monday, her fiancé called to tell us she was pregnant and had complications that led to a hospital visit. We got a note from her OB-GYN saying she’d been seen, but not indicating when she could return. What should we do to avoid any legal fall out? —K.A., New York

Must We Give Time Off for ‘Witness Duty’?

06/01/2006

Q. We have an employee who has been subpoenaed to appear as a witness in a criminal case. She obviously has no choice but to go. Are we required to pay her while she is off, or can we have her take vacation time or an unpaid leave of absence? —C.S., Pennsylvania

How Long to Tolerate a ‘Disappearing’ Employee?

05/01/2006

Q. We’re a small business with eight employees. One employee frequently takes off for six to eight weeks with medical problems. She’s done this each year for the past three years. It’s a huge burden because very few people have her training, so we can’t hire a temp. How long do we have to allow her to disappear for months at a time? —M.S., Ohio

New I-9, W-4 needed when employee changes name?

05/01/2006

Q. When employees get married, do we need new W-4s to show the new name? And do we need new I-9s (which, I assume, would require supporting documentation in the new name)? — M.G., Washington

Part of Sarbanes-Oxley law applies to all employers

05/01/2006

Q. I work for a nonprofit social service organization. Do such organizations have to comply with SOX rules? —J.M., New Jersey

Can you search employee lockers, purses, desks?

05/01/2006

Q. Can we open an employee’s personal things, like her locker, purse or desk drawer, if we suspect her of stealing? —A.G., Connecticut

You’re not required to print handbook in Spanish

04/01/2006

Q. If an employee speaks Spanish and doesn’t understand English, am I required to have my handbooks and other policies translated into Spanish? Is the handbook valid if the employee signs but does not understand the content? —A.B., California

Solving the Case of the ‘Stinky Staffer’

04/01/2006

Q. We have a “stinky employee” problem. How do I go about telling this person that she has a horrible smell and it’s now affecting some of my other staff? —S.H., Washington

Accruing sick leave during workers’ comp leave

04/01/2006

Q. One of our employees is out on workers’ comp. Our contract says “no sick time will be lost or deducted” while employees are out on workers’ comp. But now he wants to know if he continues to accrue sick time and holiday pay while not working. Does he? —J.S., Michigan