The holiday season is generally a time for celebration. However, employers should be particularly vigilant in their efforts to mitigate risk for employment claims. Below are some issues to keep in mind.
Reducing Risk at Holiday Parties
Holiday parties offer a great opportunity to connect with coworkers and colleagues. However, employers should consider the risks of providing or permitting the consumption of alcohol.
Event coordinators and vendors should ensure intoxicated individuals aren’t served. Employers could potentially be subject to liability if they allow employees to be overserved and there’s a car accident, so if an employee is intoxicated, they shouldn’t be permitted to drive.
Also, holiday parties may increase the risk of harassment complaints, as the celebration and alcohol consumption could lower inhibitions. Be vigilant in investigating any claim of inappropriate harassment arising out of a holiday party. Additionally, managers should be reminded that if they see inappropriate behavior at a celebration, they have the same obligation to report and correct the issue.
Holiday/End-of-Year Bonuses
Make sure to review your pay practices regarding bonuses to ensure they’re compliant with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Nonexempt employees may be entitled to have their overtime recalculated to include bonuses in their regular rate of pay for overtime premium calculation.
Discretionary bonuses, the payment and amount of which are paid at the sole discretion of the employer, don’t count toward the regular rate of pay and don’t need to be factored into any overtime calculations.
However, nondiscretionary bonuses, which are based on fulfillment of a predetermined formula or metric, must be counted toward the regular rate of pay for determining the overtime rate. For example, a gratuitous $500 holiday bonus the company decides to pay at or near the time of payment wouldn’t be included in the regular rate calculation.
However, if the employer promised a $2,000 bonus if the company met its revenue goal for the period of January 1 to December 31 and the bonus becomes payable, that bonus would need to be calculated into the regular rate of pay. An additional overtime premium would also be due to nonexempt employees who worked overtime over the previous year.
Student Employment
If your company employs minor students during the holiday season, make sure to comply with Michigan’s rules governing youth employment. First, minors must be issued a work permit from the issuing officer of their school. Second, there are restrictions on the number of hours and times of day minors can work.
Those aged 16 and 17 have fewer restrictions than those aged 14 and 15. Minors also must be given a half-hour break for each five hours worked in a day. There are also other restrictions on the type of work minors can perform, e.g., no work defined as “hazardous.”
Employee Handbook Review
The end of the year is a great time to review your employee handbook and consider implementing any policy or procedure changes early in the new year. It’s recommended that handbooks be reviewed at least every few years due to both potential changes in company policies and changes in legal requirements.
The beginning of the year is a good time to implement changes.
Terminations
Consider whether it makes sense to delay noncritical terminations until the new year in light of the holiday season. If an employee has engaged in serious misconduct or there’s a severe downturn in work, delay in taking action is likely not an option. However, if less serious performance/conduct issues have arisen, consider building your documentation of the issues and addressing the issues at the beginning of the new year.
The optics of firing employees with longstanding issues in the middle of the holiday season could raise the potential for legal action.
Mackenzie Clark is an associate at Bodman PLC in Troy. She can be reached at mclark@bodmanlaw.com.