How Paid Family Leave and Related Programs Can Help Your Business

by | Aug 7, 2022 | Business Tips, Time & Attendance

Employment benefits that improve quality of life, increase flexibility, and enable people to attend to their personal needs rank high among both employees and job-seekers. And yet, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), while 79 percent of employees have...

If an employee runs out of paid time off, can we allow them to take an unpaid leave?

by | Jul 24, 2022 | Human Resources, Time & Attendance

Answer from Kim, SPHR, AAM, CPIW: In most cases, yes. In general, you can offer the option of unpaid leave when an employee has used all of their paid leave time. A few things to keep in mind: In some situations, such as under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the...

Can we require employees to do extra work outside their scheduled hours? 

by | Jul 3, 2022 | Business Tips, Employment Law, Time & Attendance

Answer from Sergio, SHRM-CP: 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...

Can we deny vacation requests?

by | May 29, 2022 | Business Tips, Time & Attendance

Answer from Jenny, SPHR, SHRM-SCP: In general, yes. But you should have—and document—a legitimate business reason for doing so. Denying vacation requests will undoubtedly hurt morale, especially if it happens frequently, and low morale leads to higher rates of...

Can we require exempt, salaried employees to turn in time sheets?

by | Apr 18, 2022 | Time & Attendance

Answer from Laura, MA, SHRM-CP: Yes. There are many reasons you might want or need to track exempt employee time. For example, you may opt to track an exempt employee’s hours for purposes of client billing, grant tracking, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA),...

If a holiday like New Year’s Eve falls on a weekend when we’re closed, and we typically give employees that holiday off, do we have to offer employees an alternative day off?

by | Mar 4, 2022 | Human Resources, Time & Attendance

Answer from Emily, MBA, SPHR: No, the way you designate holiday closures is largely up to you. No federal law requires you to offer holidays off or offer alternative days off if you’re closed on a holiday (Massachusetts and Rhode Island both have laws that address...