We recently had an open position that two employees were interested in. We’ve made our selection and our chosen employee accepted the role. How do we tell the other employee they were not selected? Answer from Laura, MA, SHRM-CP: We recommend having a face-to-face conversation with the...
Protected classes—also known as protected characteristics—come from several federal laws (about half are from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964). Although we’re usually talking about them with respect to employment, they may also come into play in housing, education, and public accommodations. The...
Can an employee waive overtime pay with a signed letter? No. An employee can’t waive their right to overtime pay, even if they want to. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) prohibits the waiver of an employee's rights to overtime pay (and minimum wage) in...
While covering shifts for an employee on a leave of absence, we discovered errors in their work. How do we address their performance without seeming retaliatory for taking leave? Answer from Jenny, SPHR, SHRM-SCP: Taking disciplinary or corrective action following a leave of absence is going to...
We have received a lot of time off requests around the holidays, more than we can approve. Can we approve some but deny others? Answer from Kim, SPHR, SHRM-SCP: In general, yes. We recommend having a policy for time off that explains how employees can request time...
Lately, we’ve noticed employees using wearable devices while working. We have a policy that limits personal cell phone use at work. Can we expand that to include wearables like smartwatches? Answer from Eric, SPHR, SHRM-SCP: Yes, you can expand your policy to include wearables or other smart...
No. An employee wanting to change their hours because they got a second job is not something you’re required to accommodate. Even so, we wouldn’t recommend immediately giving the employee an ultimatum to keep working their current schedule or resign. Instead, we’d suggest talking with your...
This is likely a phishing scam—a type of con in which scammers use emails, texts, or phone calls to trick someone into providing company or personal information that then allows the scammer to steal from them. These messages often appear to come from someone the...
Protected classes—also known as protected characteristics—come from several federal laws, though about half are from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although we’re usually talking about them with respect to employment, they may also come into play in housing, education, and public...
It depends. There are many reasons an employee may choose to use a job title on LinkedIn that is different than their official job title with your organization. For one, employees may feel that their job title doesn’t accurately or meaningfully describe the work they...