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More companies opt for mandatory vacation, but is it legal?

08/01/2002
Continuing a cost-cutting step they took last year, some companies, especially tech firms, are again asking employees to take mandatory vacations. The forced time off, paid or not, is catching …

Employees can use vacation time toward one-year FMLA eligibility

07/01/2002
Robert Ruder began working in management at a Maine hospital on Jan. 5, 2000. Exactly one year later, he left work for unspecified medical reasons. His employer denied his request for …

Eligibility for Holiday Pay Is Your Call

07/01/2002

Q. Is there a law that states the number of hours necessary to be considered full time for being eligible for paid holidays? Our handbook says an employee who works fewer than 40 hours a week is considered part time. An employee who works 34 hours a week wonders if he should be eligible for paid holidays. Our handbook says he’s not. Is that OK? —B.D., Michigan

Avoid Two-Tier Benefit Policy

07/01/2002

Q. We offer all employees two weeks’ paid vacation a year. If an employee chooses a 100-percent, full-commission pay structure, how should we set her pay for vacation? The employee wants to take her annual pay divided by 52 weeks, but we feel that’s unfair to the employees who are on salary plus commission, because their vacation pay is based on their base salary divided by 52 weeks. Is there a correct and legal way to figure this? —R.D., Florida

Give employees fair shot to verify leave

06/01/2002
Alex Jiminez frequently missed work due to flare-ups of Crohn’s disease. His employer’s absentee policy required progressive warnings and eventual management review after 80 hours of absences. The company reminded …

Warn supervisors: They can be held personally liable in FMLA cases

06/01/2002
Could your supervisors and managers be held personally liable when they wrongly interpret the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? In many courts, the answer is yes. Recent case: Susan …

Don’t pry too deeply when seeking proof of sick leave

06/01/2002
Under her employer’s sick-leave policy, corrections officer Belinda Fountain had to provide a diagnosis of her medical condition every time she was absent. This “medical certification” had to be on …

Vacation policy: Keep benchmarks, formality in mind

06/01/2002
The summer vacation season is upon us, and that means it’s time to dust off your company’s time-off policy. Despite lingering uncertainty over the economic recovery and travel safety, 77 …

‘Emotional caregivers’ win FMLA coverage

05/01/2002
Truck driver Joseph Scamihorn Jr. saw his 73-year-old father fall into a deep depression soon after his daughter, Joseph’s sister, was murdered. After notifying his employer, Scamihorn left his job for …

FMLA recordkeeping hassles costing businesses big bucks

05/01/2002
Complying with the information-collection requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) costs large- and medium-size employers an average of $825,000 annually, says a recent survey by the Employment …