Q:  Our company is requiring all employees to get vaccinated for COVID.  We received a request for an exemption to the vaccination requirement on the basis of a sincerely-held religious belief.  Can we require some form of documentation or verification? A:  Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, employees cannot be required to get […]

Q: We are thinking about hiring our first remote employee. Is there anything we need to do differently? A: Yes, there are several employment aspects to consider when hiring an employee who will be working outside of the office. You should establish policies around remote work such as availability, use of equipment, confidentiality, and information [...]

Q: We have an employee who is constantly on their phone for personal business. While we understand they need to check in with their family, it gets out of hand and keeps them from doing work. It also disrupts the office keeping everyone else from being able to do their work efficiently. What can we […]

Question: I just received a call asking for a verification of employment for one of my employees. I thought everything was good based on recent conversations, but now I’m not sure what is going on. Can I ask them if they are job hunting? Answer: Legally, yes, you can ask since you learned about the […]

Question: What deductions can we take from a non-exempt employee’s paycheck? Answer: First, make any deductions required by law such as taxes, unemployment, and Social Security. This would also include garnishments required by a legal authority such as the courts or IRS.  Any other deductions would need to be categorized as those for the [...]

Question:  We do not have formal drivers in our company. Do I need a driving policy? Answer: Yes, we recommend even companies without formal driving positions have a Driving for the Company policy in their handbook. In fact, some business insurance carriers recommend or require it as well.  Most companies have employees who may drive on […]

Question: We are re-opening the office and have some employees who are vaccinated while others are not. Do we have to implement any different procedures or policies? Answer:  Allowing fully vaccinated individuals to unmask and requiring those without a vaccine to continue masking adheres to the recent CDC (and in many instances state and local) [...]

Question: During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to make changes to our paid time off policy. While we normally do not allow carry-over, we did give our employees the option in 2020. Now that people are able to travel again to use time off, can we go back to our previous practice? […]

Question: We were required to offer employees paid time off under the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA) last year. Do I still need to? Answer: While it is no longer mandatory for employers with fewer than 500 employees to offer this time off, it is voluntary. The Consolidated Appropriations Act signed by President Trump […]

Question: An employee posted concerning comments on their personal social media page. I am worried this may impact our business. Can I take any action against the employee? Answer: Maybe. While an employee’s social media postings are personal, they are not private since they are shared with a broad audience. There are some posts which […]