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You're the Expert
July 2008
We want to make our holiday policy more inclusive, and we're looking for another way to say that employees get "Christmas" and "Easter Sunday," etc., off. Any ideas? . . . more
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Wage and Hour: Is It Legal to Suspend an Employee Without Pay as a Form of Discipline?
June 2008
My company often sends employees home without pay for various offenses, such as egregious dress code violations, insubordination, and slacking off. Sometimes, the employee is told to return the next day, and sometimes the suspension runs for a few days or more while we investigate. I wouldn't want anyone to know I'm asking, but is it legal for us to do this? . . . more
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Short Takes: Leaves
June 2008
Can we require an employee to give us advance notice if he or she will be going out on leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or the California Family Rights Act (CFRA)? . . . more
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Leaves: Can We Force Employees to Take Vacation During a Twice-Yearly Shutdown?
May 2008
We've been struggling with keeping production up because of employee vacations. So instead of trying to fight vacation schedules, we want to start shutting down for a week in December and again in July and making everyone take vacation during those weeks. Are there any laws about doing this or any problems that you foresee? How much notice do we have to give? How would we go about phasing this in? . . . more
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Short Takes: Travel Time
May 2008
My employees report to the yard to pick up equipment and then travel to the jobsite. I pay mileage for their travel time from the yard to the jobsite. If I send them from home to the jobsite first, then to the yard, do I have to pay them from that jobsite to the yard, even though the jobsite is closer to their homes than the yard? . . . more
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Short Takes: Meal Breaks
May 2008
We have a call center, and we're wondering how much flexibility we have in scheduling meal breaks. If we have to make sure employees have their meal break before working more than five hours, that's a pretty tight fit for us. What can we do to ensure adequate coverage while people take breaks? . . . more
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Age Discrimination: We Have a Five-Year Training Program; Can We Hire Only Younger People?
April 2008
We have a training program that involves five years of rotating assignments before employees are ready to really start the job. And it is a few years after that before they start to actually contribute significant profits. Because we have to invest so much in their training, can we have an age cutoff, such as not hiring people over age 50? If not, what can we do to ensure that new hires will work long enough to pay off our investment in them? . . . more
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FLSA Exemptions: How Many Workers Must Report to a Working Foreman to Make Him or Her a 'Supervisor'?
April 2008
We have a lot of production workers, several "working foremen," and a few supervisors. A foreman has said that because of the number of people working under him (10 employees), he should be paid as a supervisor. So now we're trying to sort out the distinction between workers, working foremen, and supervisors. Is there a specific number of employees that is too many for a foreman to be responsible for? How should we define these roles? . . . more
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Compensation: Should We Give Quick Raises to New People for Better Retention Results?
March 2008
I just read an article that said it's important to give raises to good new employees soon after hiring or you'll lose them. Sure, that may be a good idea in theory, but if I do that, the new people will make more than the workers who have been around for much longer. And that's not going to be a secret for too long around here. I'm afraid I'll then lose the experienced personnel. I know my management won't go for bumping up everyone's compensation, so what do I do? . . . more
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Rest Breaks: How Do We Handle Complaints About
Smokers' Breaks?
March 2008
We're a small company and we've been fairly lenient with rest breaks. We assumed that employees would take a 10-minute rest break in the morning and again in the afternoon, but we haven't policed exactly how long people take their breaks. We've also just let smokers step outside for cigarette breaks without tracking how often or how long they're out. We haven't felt that anyone was taking advantage of this system or abusing the privilege. . . . more
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Short Takes: Rest Periods
February 2008
A worker says 10 minutes isn't enough time to get to the break room, have coffee, and return to her workstation. Do we have to pay employees for time spent walking to and from the break area? . . . more
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