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Employment Law

ADA: How far must you go to ‘reasonably’ accommodate?

02/01/2005
THE LAW. The Americans with Dis-abilities Act (ADA) says employers can’t discriminate against employees who have physical or mental disabilities, and you must help them perform the critical functions of …

Travel Time Is ‘Work Time’ if It Cuts Across Workday

02/01/2005

Q. We hired a new branch manager in a one-person office in another town. Because she earns $19,240 a year, she doesn’t meet the new annual threshold of $23,660 for exempt status, correct? Several times a year, she escorts trips involving overnight stays. While she’s out, she forwards her calls to the host office and closes her doors. How do we compensate her? Am I right that she has to be considered "hourly"? And how do we compensate for the overnight and travel time? —K.H., Kansas

Beware time clock ’rounding’ errors; push for an upgrade

02/01/2005
Issue: The legal and financial hazards of an improperly programmed time clock.
Risk: Thousands in back pay and government penalties, in addition to unwanted publicity.
Action: Audit your timekeeping …

Offer, don’t force, light duty as option for FMLA leave

02/01/2005
Issue: Court ruling says employees can perform light-duty work during their FMLA leave.
Benefit: In such cases, time spent on light-duty work would count toward the employees’ 12-week FMLA allotment …

Revamp employment contracts to account for new tax rules

02/01/2005
Issue: A new IRS ruling says signing bonuses and early-termination payments are considered taxable wages.
Risk: Overlooking that decision can trigger compensation problems or IRS penalties.
Action: Take this …

Employ teens? See new list of ‘too dangerous’ jobs

02/01/2005
The U.S. Labor Department unveiled new limits on the type of responsibilities you can give teen employees in certain industries. The key changes, which take effect Feb. 14: new limits on …

Beware of costly time-clock ’rounding’

01/01/2005
If your organization uses a time clock, you probably haven’t thought about whether it’s programmed accurately. But a seemingly small hiccup in “rounding” hourly employees’ work time could cost big bucks. …

Payroll records: What to track (and for how long)

01/01/2005

Violating Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) timekeeping rules can be a costly error, as the hospital in one case discovered. The FLSA requires employers to keep at least the following …

No need to accommodate those who want to work overtime

01/01/2005
You’re required to reasonably accommodate employees when their religious practices conflict with their job requirements. But what if an employee asks for an accommodation just so he can work overtime? Must …

Probe all complaints; even positive review can trigger retaliation claim

01/01/2005
Can supervisors be guilty of retaliation if they give a mostly positive performance review? Yes, it’s possible.
As the following case shows, if an employee views any part of her …