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Wage and Hour: Can We Dock the Pay of Tardy Employees?

We are having a lot of trouble with employees—both exempt and nonexempt-who come to work late. Our attempts to deal with this haven’t been too successful. In some jobs like the assembly line, punctuality is critical-we can’t run the line without all the people there. In other cases, it doesn’t matter so much as far […]

Short Takes: Recording Phone Calls

I know that California law requires both parties’ consent to record or monitor phone calls. So if we intend to record or monitor incoming phone calls, we need to have a recording that says that the call may be monitored or recorded. However, what if we are calling out to a customer or client? At […]

Short Takes: Fingerprint Checks

We fingerprint employees and run a background check if they are going to be working with or near children. (We do it for current employees if they are transferring to such a job.) Are we required to provide these applicants/employees with the results of their fingerprint background checks?

Employee Leave: What Do We Need to Know About Switching to PTO?

We’re considering moving to a Paid Time Off (PTO) program instead of our current separate bundles of vacation, sick time, and personal leave, and we have a bunch of questions. When companies make this switch, do they just add up the number of days and then lump them all together? Impose any restrictions on taking […]

Training: Can We Recoup Training Costs From Departing Employees?

One of our employees just quit-two weeks after finishing an expensive monthlong training program that we paid for. We also paid her salary while she was in training. Can we somehow force this ex-employee to reimburse us? Is there some way to set up a policy or contract with new trainees that protects us from […]

Family and Medical Leave: When Can You Require a New Certification of a Serious Health Condition?

Suppose an employee takes time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for his or her own serious health condition, and you require a healthcare provider’s certification confirming the need for leave. After a year goes by, the employee needs additional leave for the same health problem. Can you require this person to […]