07/19/2010
Q. Currently, we require each individual employee to fill out his or her own time sheet. But we’re considering a new format that lists all employees on one time sheet. Is this legal? Or should each employee’s time sheet be kept confidential?
|
07/15/2010
Q. Our organization requires employees to wear uniforms on the job. Do we have an obligation to pay for the uniforms?
|
06/02/2010
Q. We have an employee who recently submitted an expense report for more than $1,300 for an extended business trip. We accidentally reimbursed him twice. He did not report the double payment and we did not learn of the mistake until an internal audit two months later. Our company policy prohibits dishonesty and we want to fire the worker for violating this rule. Will he be able to collect unemployment benefits? May we withhold the vacation pay that is due to him under our policy, which would just about make us whole?
|
05/28/2010
Q. Our time-clock software allows for a five-minute grace period at the start and end of each shift. For example, if the employee’s designated start time is 8:00 a.m. and the employee clocks in at either 7:56 a.m. or 8:04 a.m., the actual start time will be logged as 8:00 a.m. for pay purposes. Is this OK?
|
05/21/2010
Beginning in the 2011 tax year, employers will be required to report the “aggregate cost” of “applicable employer-sponsored coverage” on their employees’ W-2 forms.
|
05/11/2010
Q. If an employee owes us money, can we collect it through deductions from his wages?
|
04/19/2010
Q. One of our employees recently took a company-issued BlackBerry with him on a business trip. The employee lost the BlackBerry while out on the town, and the company would like to have him pay for a replacement. Can we deduct the cost of a replacement BlackBerry from his paycheck?
|
04/19/2010
Q. We have an employee whose company-provided laptop fell and broke while he was working from home. Can we deduct the cost of the computer from the employee’s paycheck?
|
04/19/2010
The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) has issued an opinion letter stating that, although employers may not deduct from exempt employees’ salaries for partial-day absences, they may make deductions from employee leave balances in accordance with the employer’s bona fide leave policies.
|
04/16/2010
Q. One of our employees is constantly misplacing things, like his W-2 forms and his checks. It’s getting annoying. Can we make him pay a fee? We’re thinking this might make him more careful.
|
03/23/2010
With the unemployment rate still holding stubbornly near 10%, Congress this month approved a new $18 billion bill that offers tax breaks to employers who add certain new employees to the payroll. President Obama signed it on March 18.
|
03/19/2010
Q. Several of our employees repeatedly turn in their time sheets late. Can we institute a policy stating that if a time sheet is turned in late, any overtime on that week’s time sheet will not be paid until the next pay period?
|
03/01/2010
Q. One of our field technicians is consistently late in providing her time sheets. This interferes with promptly billing our customers for work performed. Can we delay paying this employee as an incentive to submit her time sheets on time?
|
02/25/2010
Q. We have salespeople who work on a straight commission basis. Do we need to track their hours?
|
02/12/2010
Q. We recently received a court order to garnish the wages of an employee who has failed to repay a student loan. I thought that the garnishment of an employee’s wages in Texas was prohibited by law. Is that no longer true?
|