Can we prohibit employees from dyeing their hair bright pink, aqua, or other extreme colors?

by | Oct 23, 2023 | Human Resources

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...

Seven Things to Consider When Providing Paid Time Off

by | Oct 23, 2023 | Human Resources, Time & Attendance

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?

by | Oct 23, 2023 | Human Resources, Time & Attendance

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?

by | Oct 23, 2023 | Harassment, Human Resources

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...

Can we tell nonexempt employees not to check email and messages when they’re supposed to be off the clock? They’ve been doing this a lot, and we don’t want to have to continue paying them for this additional, unscheduled time.

by | Sep 7, 2023 | Human Resources, Uncategorized

Answered by the HR Experts: Yes, you can tell nonexempt employees that they shouldn’t read or respond to messages when they’re not scheduled to be working. When communicating your expectations, it may be beneficial to investigate why these employees are checking email...

What is intermittent leave under the FMLA, and when can employees use it?

by | Aug 25, 2023 | Human Resources

Answered by the HR Experts Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), intermittent leave is leave taken in multiple blocks of time, each less than the employee’s full FMLA entitlement, for the same ongoing reason. Examples of intermittent leave include an employee...