Question: We have an employee out due to a work-related injury. Do we still need to send them Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) paperwork if they’re already on workers’ compensation? Answered by the HR Experts: It depends. The FMLA and workers’ compensation serve different purposes. The...
Paid-time-off (PTO) requests arrive year-round, but what happens when approving a vacation would leave you short-staffed—or open you to compliance risk? Denying PTO is sometimes necessary, yet if it’s handled poorly you can damage trust, trigger legal issues, or even lose employees. Below is a...
Question: I read that FMLA entitles eligible employees to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave. What does “job-protected” mean? Answered by the HR Experts: When a leave of absence is “job-protected”, you can’t terminate or demote the employee, or take away any benefit they earned or...
Question: Can we deny an employee’s use of accrued vacation time? Answered by the HR Experts: Yes, the decision to approve or deny the use of accrued vacation time is up to you, assuming you do so in a consistent and nondiscriminatory manner. It would be...
In most cases, yes. In general, you can offer the option of unpaid leave when an employee has used all of their paid time off. A few things to keep in mind: In some situations, such as under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the...
Question: One of our employees is returning from FMLA next month. Is it okay for their manager to contact them before they return? Answered by the HR Experts: Yes. Employer-initiated contact during a protected leave is permissible, but it should be minimal and limited to necessary...
How do you currently track and manage paid time off? If the answer is “PTO tracker spreadsheets” or anything similar, how is that working out? Although PTO spreadsheets are certainly preferable to hand calculations or paper documents, they are no longer the ideal solution in...
Yes, but you have to pay for it. As an employer, you have control over schedules and can modify them as needed. That may mean scheduling additional work time for employees. A few things to note: For nonexempt employees, any extra work time must be...
Question: An employee requested an unpaid leave of absence to complete their last semester of college. Do we have to approve it? If we don’t but still want to, what should we consider before approving the employee’s request? Answered by the HR Experts: A leave...
Question: My employees regularly forget to clock out during their breaks and meal periods. I've told them countless times, and they just forget to do it. What can I do? Answered by the HR Experts: There are a few steps you can take to help your...