Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
A few of our employees call in sick on a semi-regular basis with legitimate but unpredictable health issues relating to conditions like epilepsy and asthma. Is this time off covered by FMLA/CFRA? The employees can’t give us much advance notice because their symptoms come on so suddenly. —Anonymous Many employers struggle with whether absences due […]
We have many employment documents that bear a seal or have a signature or a notary’s stamp. If we scan the documents and store them electronically, can we keep (and properly index) only the original pages that have the seal, signature, etc., and destroy the rest of the pages? Or, even better, can we scan […]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has slapped restaurant chain Cheesecake Factory, Inc., headquartered in Calabasas, with a class-action lawsuit alleging male-on-male sexual harassment at a restaurant in Arizona.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on the level of scrutiny courts must apply when an employee challenges a denial of benefits and the plan administrator, whether the employer or an insurance company, played the dual role of determining whether the employee was eligible for benefits and paying benefits out of its own pocket.1 The […]
Can an employee take an intermittent leave to care for a dependent child (under age 18) who is giving birth and then take time to assist in the care of the grandchild for doctor’s appointments and the like? — Alessandra in Marin City To determine what, if any, time off is appropriate in a […]
We have both a construction staff and an office staff, and we’re trying to put together a policy for paying employees in the event of an emergency. What happens if the construction staff needs to be sent home during inclement weather or the office staff and upper management can’t work because their computers are down? […]
We’re in the process of rewriting our employee handbook, and we want to modify our employee appearance policy. What do we need to consider? We want our employees to look professional, but we don’t want to get caught in a lawsuit. — Ronald W., San Jose
We have an “aggressive” employee who seems to make her co-workers uncomfortable by loudly criticizing them; we think we have a bully on our staff. Is workplace bullying illegal? Do you have any tips for us to recognize and prevent bullying at work? Thanks. — Sara R., Oakland Bullying exists on school playgrounds, but […]
I’m embarrassed to say that my company does not have an employee handbook of any kind, and I think it’s high time we got one together. Any tips for us? — HR Professional in Orange County
I have a 1099 contractor who does not want to become an employee, but technically she’s been performing the same functions an employee would. She has been a contractor for over a year. How would you advise us to handle this situation? — Anonymous