No. Some employers call the first few weeks or months of an employee’s time with the company an introductory period, but this designation has no bearing on the rights employers or employees have. An introductory period doesn’t reduce the risks of termination (you should still have...
Question: We have an exempt employee who has been taking a lot of long lunches and my boss wants to deduct time from her paid time off (PTO) bank. Can we dock her PTO for taking a long lunch? Answer: You can deduct hours from this exempt...
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides covered employees job-protected, unpaid leave for family or medical related reasons, such as to care for a sick family member or the birth or adoption of a child. Private sector employers that have 50 or more employees...
Question: Can we tell nonexempt employees not to check email and messages when they’re supposed to be off the clock? They’ve been doing this a lot, and we don’t want to have to continue paying them for this additional, unscheduled time. Answer: Yes, you can tell nonexempt...
Even if an employee has exhausted their FMLA leave for the year, their condition may fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the ADA, a disabled employee is one who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major...
Question: If we require employees to arrive ten minutes early to prepare for work, do we have to pay them for this extra time? Answer: Yes. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (and likely state law as well), you must pay employees for all hours...
Question: We have an hourly employee who will be working at two different locations and under two titles, 25 hours at one location and 25 hours at the other. Will he need to be paid overtime? Answer: Yes. Titles, job duties, and locations are irrelevant—focus only on...
Question: Is there a limit to how many hours I can assign to a part-time employee? Answer: There’s no specific limit to the number of hours you can assign to a part-time employee, as it’s up to you to decide how many hours employees need to work...
Question: Do we have to give employees who smoke additional smoke breaks or allow them to return to work smelling strongly of smoke? We’ve received complaints from both other employees and customers. Answer: No, you’re not required to provide additional breaks to employees who smoke, and...
Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), intermittent leave is leave taken in multiple blocks of time, each less than the employee’s full FMLA entitlement, for the same ongoing reason. Examples of intermittent leave include an employee taking a day each week for ongoing cancer treatments or...