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Online Exclusive: Independent Contractor Agreement
Online Exclusive July 2008
A written independent contractor agreement is essential to document the mutual understanding between you and your contractor that the person is not an employee. This month, we're providing a sample general agreement that can be customized as needed. Online subscribers can access this sample form now. . . . 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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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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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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