REMOTE EMPLOYEE UNAVAILABLE
Question: We have a remote employee who works their required number of hours each day but usually outside of our normal work hours. They are often unavailable for calls or meetings with management or co-workers and even clients have expressed frustration with their unavailability. While we believe employees should have some flexibility in when they […]
Religious Exemption to Vaccine
Q: Our company is requiring all employees to get vaccinated for COVID. We received a request for an exemption to the vaccination requirement on the basis of a sincerely-held religious belief. Can we require some form of documentation or verification? A: Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, employees cannot be required to get […]
Hiring a Remote Employee
Q: We are thinking about hiring our first remote employee. Is there anything we need to do differently? A: Yes, there are several employment aspects to consider when hiring an employee who will be working outside of the office. You should establish policies around remote work such as availability, use of equipment, confidentiality, and information […]
Disruptive Phone Behavior
Q: We have an employee who is constantly on their phone for personal business. While we understand they need to check in with their family, it gets out of hand and keeps them from doing work. It also disrupts the office keeping everyone else from being able to do their work efficiently. What can we […]
Should I Confront My Employee?
Question: I just received a call asking for a verification of employment for one of my employees. I thought everything was good based on recent conversations, but now I’m not sure what is going on. Can I ask them if they are job hunting? Answer: Legally, yes, you can ask since you learned about the […]
Non-Exempt Employee Deductions
Question: What deductions can we take from a non-exempt employee’s paycheck? Answer: First, make any deductions required by law such as taxes, unemployment, and Social Security. This would also include garnishments required by a legal authority such as the courts or IRS. Any other deductions would need to be categorized as those for the employee’s […]
Formal Driving Policy
Question: We do not have formal drivers in our company. Do I need a driving policy? Answer: Yes, we recommend even companies without formal driving positions have a Driving for the Company policy in their handbook. In fact, some business insurance carriers recommend or require it as well. Most companies have employees who may drive on […]
REOPENING THE OFFICE
Question: We are re-opening the office and have some employees who are vaccinated while others are not. Do we have to implement any different procedures or policies? Answer: Allowing fully vaccinated individuals to unmask and requiring those without a vaccine to continue masking adheres to the recent CDC (and in many instances state and local) […]
Returning to Regular Practices
Question: During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to make changes to our paid time off policy. While we normally do not allow carry-over, we did give our employees the option in 2020. Now that people are able to travel again to use time off, can we go back to our previous practice? […]
FFCRA PTO Changes
Question: We were required to offer employees paid time off under the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA) last year. Do I still need to? Answer: While it is no longer mandatory for employers with fewer than 500 employees to offer this time off, it is voluntary. The Consolidated Appropriations Act signed by President Trump […]
