Archives

Warning Signs–Unions Organizing Behind Your Back

In yesterday’s Advisor, attorney Mark Ricciardi presented key reasons why employees are attracted to unions. Today, what you can do about it, and an introduction to a unique training system that will help you to avoid union pressures. Ricciardi, a partner in the Las Vegas office of law firm Fisher & Phillips, LLP, offered the […]

Ask the Expert: Can an employee take FMLA leave to go to a hypnotist if his doctor recommends this to help him quit smoking?

January 7, 2011 It is unlikely that the FMLA would cover leave for hypnosis as part of a program to quit smoking. First, smoking is not an underlying serious health condition. The definition of a “serious health condition” includes an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either inpatient care (i.e., an […]

Ask the Expert: Is it better to keep personnel files in a central location or on-site locally?

October 4, 2010 This is really a matter of company policy. Many companies maintain an official personnel file with copies of resumes, applications, offer letters, performance appraisals, training records, salary increases, etc. In addition, the official file should contain any contract or written agreement between the employee and the employer (such as a noncompete agreement), […]

Obama Names GE CEO as Head of New President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness

President Obama has named GE CEO Jeff Immelt as head of the new President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. The move is a definite switch from the President’s previous Economic Recovery Advisory Board, lead by Paul Volcker. Now, the focus is not on repair, but on creating new jobs. Immelt knows a little something about […]

Ask the Expert: If an exempt employee has no leave time and he is sick for 2 full days, can we deduct these 2 days from his pay?

October 24, 2009 As you know, under the Fair Labor Standards Act, exempt employees must receive their full salary for any week in which they perform any work, without regard to the number of days or hours worked. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. Sickness and disability deductions are an area of confusion […]

Ask the Expert: A few years ago, we hired our 50th employee and updated the handbook to include FMLA. We just went down to 49 employees. Do we update the handbook again?

December 17, 2010 Determining whether an employer has 50 employees for purposes of the FMLA can be complex. As you are aware, under the FMLA regulations, an employer covered by FMLA is any person engaged in commerce or in any industry or activity affecting commerce, who employs 50 or more employees for each working day […]

Ask the Expert: Our policy says you must work the day before and the day after a holiday to receive holiday pay. What if an employee is on FMLA before or after a holiday?

November 29, 2010 As a general rule, employers are not required to provide any non-health plan benefits to employees on FMLA leave, (such as holiday pay) unless such benefits are provided to employees on non-FMLA leave (29 C.F.R. 825.209). The U.S. Department of Labor addressed your question in an Opinion Letter that can be viewed […]

Ask the Expert: Can an employee’s adult child be covered on employee’s health plan if the child lives in his own home and files his own income taxes?

September 27, 2010 On and after March 30, 2010, both coverage under an employer-provided health plan and amounts paid or reimbursed under such a plan for medical care expenses of an employee’s child who has not attained age 27 as of the end of the employee’s taxable year are excluded from the employee’s gross income […]

Ask the Expert: We have an intern who has worked with our company for over 2 years. Are we subject to any liability by not including the intern in our benefits?

September 08, 2010 Issues with interns usually revolve around whether or not they are paid. Therefore, the DOL has created rules on this topic. I will provide them to you, even though they do not answer your question exactly, because they will allow you to see that if the intern has been working for you […]

Ask the Expert: How do we calculate monthly bonus payments for attendance into an employee’s pay rate for overtime purposes?

April 10, 2010 Under the federal FLSA, bonus payments are divided into discretionary and nondiscretionary types (29 USC 207; 29 CFR 778.211). Nondiscretionary bonuses are included in an employee’s regular rate of pay for the purpose of determining overtime, while discretionary bonuses are not included in an employee’s regular rate of pay to determine overtime. […]