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Q&A

Pay for ‘Floating Holiday’ Depends on Your Policy

03/01/2000

Q. We gave eligible employees a “floating holiday” in lieu of having Dec. 31, 1999, as a paid holiday. We generally pay employees for all unused vacation, sick and personal time upon termination, but we have no policy regarding an unused floating holiday. Do we have to pay workers for any unused floating holidays upon termination? Does it make any difference if the employee requested the day off but the supervisor denied the request? —C.R., Illinois

Snow days might not freeze out exempt workers

03/01/2000

Q. Due to recent snowstorms, some employees have not been able to get to work. Can we dock the pay and/or accrued leave of employees who do not come to work? Can we do so even if the office is closed? Our attorney told us that the Fair Labor Standards Act does not apply to us because, among other things, our gross sales are under $500,000. —A.I., Maryland

What not to ask job references

03/01/2000

Q. Are there any questions we cannot or should not ask a reference when screening applicants? —B.B., Louisiana

You can recoup loss for payroll error

03/01/2000

Q. We direct-deposit the wages and salaries of most of our employees. Last week, two checks for the same pay period were deposited into an employee’s account. Can we legally have the bank withdraw the extra funds from the employee’s account? —M.F., California

Notify employees before stripping unused vacation

02/01/2000

Q. Can we require employees to forfeit vacation time that they don’t use within a certain period? —G.J., Massachusetts

What should we do with unsolicited résumés?

02/01/2000
Q. We get numerous unsolicited résumés through email and regular mail. Do we have any duty toward these individuals? Do we have any obligation to keep the materials they send?

Tell employee of subpoena for personnel file

01/01/2000

Q. We recently received a subpoena to produce the contents of an employee’s personnel file in connection with a lawsuit. The employee is a party to the lawsuit, but the company is not. Do we have to comply with the subpoena? Should we tell the employee about the subpoena? —K.H., District of Columbia

Prepare managers for EEOC inquiry

01/01/2000

Q. A former employee recently filed a complaint against my company with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging race discrimination. As part of its investigation, the agency will be coming to our offices to interview employees. Do I have to make these employees available? Can I sit in on the employee interviews? —D.N., Colorado

You may not need an affirmative action plan

01/01/2000

Q. Are all employers required to have affirmative action plans? —T.S., Maryland