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Payroll Management is a family-owned and operated independent payroll processing, HR, time and attendance, and tax support services provider for small and medium-sized businesses that want personalized service from real people.
What should we do when one of our designated paid holidays falls on a weekend when we aren’t open? Do we need to offer an alternative day off?
Answered by the HR Experts No, you don’t need to offer an alternative day off. There are no federal laws requiring private employers to provide paid time off for holidays. However, there are potential benefits to offering an alternative day off: It can boost employee...
How many hours can I assign to a part-time employee? Is there a limit?
Answered by the HR Experts There’s no limit per se, but there are few factors you might want to consider: If the employee was looking for a part-time job when you hired them (and didn’t settle for fewer hours than desired), you may get pushback if you assign more...
State Law Alert – Maine: 2024 Minimum Wage Increase
Effective January 1, 2024, Maine will enact the following changes: The statewide minimum wage will increase to $14.15 per hour. The tipped employee wage will be $7.08 per hour; combined with weekly tips, the minimum must total at least $14.15 per hour. The minimum...
What should I know about checking employee references?
Reference checks help you verify the employment information candidates provide, but they aren’t required, so it’s up to you whether you want to do them. Here are some practices we recommend if you do choose to conduct reference checks: Get permission from candidates...
Federal: EEO-1 Reporting Opens October 31
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced that 2022 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection opens on October 31, 2023. The EEO-1 Component 1 report is a mandatory filing required of all private sector employers with 100 or more employees, and federal...
Can we prohibit employees from dyeing their hair bright pink, aqua, or other extreme colors?
Answered by the HR Experts Yes. Non-natural hair color is not a protected characteristic. Even so, there are a few things you may want to consider before making a policy about this: Extreme" hair colors are becoming more and more common, so restricting colors may...
Seven Things to Consider When Providing Paid Time Off
If you’re thinking about offering it to your employees, above and beyond what you may (or may not) be legally required to provide, here are some things to consider. Everyone needs time off from work, but not everyone’s able to take it. Paid time off helps a lot....
We have an exempt employee who has been taking a lot of long lunches and my boss wants to deduct time from her paid time off (PTO) bank. Can we dock her PTO for taking a long lunch?
Answered by the HR Experts You can deduct hours from this exempt employee’s PTO bank for time she was scheduled to work but didn’t work, but if it wasn’t made clear that you expected her to follow a set schedule, you’d only want to do this going forward. However, we’d...
Do we need to conduct an investigation if one of our employees has accused another employee of harassment at a non-work event?
Answered by the HR Experts: Absolutely. It is important to remember that not all interactions between employees take place at work, and these non-work interactions can ultimately affect the workplace, potentially contributing to a hostile work environment. For...
Law Alert: Maine Limits Captive Audience Meetings and Expands Pay Equity
The following changes to Maine employment law apply to employers of all sizes and become effective on October 25, 2023. Limitations on Captive Audience Meetings Employers can’t take, or threaten to take, any adverse action against an employee for declining to attend...
Is there a limitation on the length of time that an employee can be classified as a temporary employee?
Answer: No. There are no federal laws defining how long an employee can be considered "temporary." The time frame can vary based on an organization’s budget considerations and business needs. For example, an organization may only need to hire employees for an increase...
Can we provide a monetary gift to candidates as a ‘thank you’ for interviewing?
ANSWER: Yes. You can give a candidate a thank you gift, monetary or otherwise, when they interview with you. We would recommend establishing a process for providing thank you gifts to ensure consistency and equity in determining who receives them. You could provide a...
Payroll Management, Inc.
550 Center Street STE 1210
P.O. Box 1837
Auburn, ME 04211-1837