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Question: One of our employees has been in and out with cold and flu symptoms, but he was recently diagnosed with strep throat. The leave originally wasn’t classified as Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, but because the official diagnosis occurred almost a month after the first missed workday, does the time he took off […]
Question: Are we obligated by law to disclose that our company vehicles are geographically tracked? If so, what is the best practice when advising employees their company cars will be trackable at all times? Answer: As a general rule, employers aren’t required to provide notice or obtain consent to install tracking devices on company-owned vehicles. There […]
Question: One of our employees is on intermittent Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave. She’s gotten sick and claims it’s unrelated to her reasons for being on FMLA leave. Can we include these days in her FMLA time and have them go unpaid? Answer: No. Unless you have reason to believe she’s being untruthful, […]
Question: We have an employee who is currently breastfeeding and having issues with her performance. She’s reserving our mother’s room four times per workday for an hour each time. Is there a way to navigate this excessive use of the accommodation according to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)? We’re concerned about her ability to get […]
Question: Would it be noncompliant to require employees to work both the day before and the day after a holiday in order to receive holiday pay? Also, would it break any pay laws not to provide holiday pay to an employee who calls out sick before a holiday? Answer: Federal law doesn’t require pay for […]
Question: What’s the minimum amount of time we can require exempt employees to use their paid time off (PTO)? Under our benefits policy, a half day (four-hour deductions) for exempt employees is usually OK, and our nonexempt employees can take PTO one hour at a time, but could we require a similar two-hour increment for […]
Q: One of our employees has been arrested but not convicted. It doesn’t appear he’s going to be released in the near future. Is it better to put him in an unpaid “leave” status or fire him? A: Whether an employee who has been arrested should be terminated or placed on unpaid leave depends on the […]
In our latest installment of Ask the Expert, brought to you by the team of industry experts at HR Hero®, we look at a question about best practices for using employees’ photos. Q: Our company has just taken pictures of key employees for use on social media, brochures, and elsewhere. Are we required to get consent […]
In our latest installment of Ask the Expert, brought to you by the team of industry experts at HR Hero®, we look at a recent question from a subscriber regarding an employer’s ability to require workers to work overtime. Let’s hear what our team of HR experts have to say! Q: Can employees be mandated to […]
In our latest installment of Ask the Expert, brought to you by the team of industry experts at HR Hero®, we look at a recent question from a subscriber wondering if employers can offer healthcare spending accounts to employees, such as FSAs and HSAs, without providing a medical plan. Let’s find out what our experts have […]