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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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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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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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Short Takes: 'Day of Rest'
February 2008
An employee told HR that we can't make him work on Sunday because of the state's "day of rest" law. Is that true? . . . more
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