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Apr20

Employee pay reduction

Hi,

I just read an article on you site in regards to reducing pay for non performance. I have a slight differant situation.

I have a employee that I just recently did a review for and have given this person a wage increase, I had shared that he should be a lead role model in the facility due to his time and experience. and that this was one of the reasons that we had given an increase. Although he had missed a bunch of time due to family matters outside of the work place. Which we try to deal with that as best we can understanding the situation this employee is under.

After this I have had another employee come to me a week or so later to explain that the subject employee came to several of the other employees and said ” I am trying to get fired and they gave me a raise”.

So I have tried to give increased wages to boost moral and leadership and in turn recieved this. Should I and can I take the wage increase away, Terminate, “which I would rather not do because of him wanting that exact thing”. I would rather he just quit. Help?

In this situation you should monitor the work performance along with the additional responsibilities. If the employee is not doing the work or his performance slacks off, he should be placed on a performance improvement plan.

In addition, you should address all time off under an attendance policy.

The employee may work out given the new responsibilities; however his performance and attendance should be monitored and documented.

April 20th, 2013, 9:38 AM |  Posted in: Human Resources Management |
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Apr20

Arrested while at work

How do you address someone being arrested while at work and is locked up for several days. Upon return to work does no explain to manager what was going on.

As the employer you do have a right to know why your employee has not been to work. Depending on if you have any procedures or policies for calling off work, unexcused absence, or criminal arrest those policies can assist you on obtaining an answer.

If the employee did not call off work you can treat the absence as unexcused, and apply disciplinary action up to and including termination (depending on your past practice or policy).

Another option is to treat the absence as unapproved unpaid and also treat the absence under any disciplinary action (depending on your past practice or policy).

If you decide to draft a policy regarding arrested or incarcerated workers, remember it is important that you distinguish between an employees arrested for a crime versus an employee who has been convicted of a crime. The best treatment is to place the arrested employee on a suspension and then to terminate them when the nature of the offense has a direct relationship with the employee’s job function or the conviction is serious but not related to work.

Always remember to consult with an attorney to make sure you do not violate any federal EEO or state fair employment practice laws.

April 20th, 2013, 8:40 AM |  Posted in: Human Resources Management |
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Apr15

Employee Termination

I have an employee who has been with the company less than 90 days. At this point, he has notified me that he will need to have surgery and “may” be able to return at that point. Do we as a company have to hold on to his position? Or can he be terminated being since he has not been with the company more than 12 months nor has more than 1250 hours? Do we have to hold on to his position being he will need to be replaced due to shortage of the crew? Thanks

Since the employee has not been with the company for 1 year or 1250 hours, he would not be covered under FMLA. In addition, he could be considered in a probationary period, he can be terminated for taking time off.

You should check with an employment lawyer for any other issues such as ADA, and any state laws.

April 15th, 2013, 5:47 PM |  Posted in: Human Resources Management |
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Apr14

Exempt employees and time recording

I have an employee who is classified as an exempt employee. In my field you work anywhere from 40-60 hours a week in a standard work week. For every company I have worked for we always have been required to put 40 hours on our timesheets. I never made a big fuss about it and in 10 years never had an employee below me make an overly big deal about it. It is just the way it is. I have an employee who has now dug their heels in and states that they simply refuse to “lie” about their time on their timesheet. They understand they are salary and exempt by the Fair Labor Standards Act and have to work as many hours as necessary to perform the job. They just refuse to lie on their timesheet and write 40.

I am trying to handle this at my management level before I kick it to HR. This person is an excellent employee and I want to avoid getting them in hot water if I can, but through the research I have done, I cannot come up with a good answer as to why they must put 40 on their timesheet.

Any help would be appreciated.

If the employee wants to put 50 or 60 hours on the time sheet, let him. An exempt employee is paid a “salary” regardless of the number of hours worked. He can work 43 or 65 but he will only receive his set salary. I commend him for wanting to be honest on his sheet; I would not encourage this employee to do something against his values.

April 14th, 2013, 6:07 AM |  Posted in: Human Resources Management |
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Apr14

use-it-or-lose-it

What are the 7 states that do not allow the use-it-or-lose-it for PTO/Vacation?

Only three states prohibit “use-it-or-lose” policies, the other 47 states are silent on the matter. The states that prohibit “use-it-or-lose” are; California, Montana, and Nebraska.

April 14th, 2013, 5:54 AM |  Posted in: Human Resources Management |
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