What is a leave entitlement?

by | Oct 19, 2021 | Earned Paid Leave, Employment Law, Human Resources

Answer from Kyle, PHR: The term leave can refer to just about any type of time away from work, but it’s often used to describe time an employee is entitled to take by law or company policy. Common leave entitlements include vacation, personal days, and sick days....

5 Things to Know When Hiring Seasonal Employees

by | Jun 3, 2021 | Business Tips, Employment Law, Taxes, Time & Attendance

Seasonal job positions are integral to many businesses—big and small—remaining operational. These positions are typically filled during a company’s busiest or peak business time when extra help is needed (holiday rush), or a particular season that corresponds to the...

Can we ask for more detail when an employee marks “personal” for the reason they’re requesting a vacation day?

by | May 4, 2021 | Earned Paid Leave, Employment Law, Human Resources, Time & Attendance

Answer from Kate, SHRM-CP: You can generally ask employees to provide more information when they indicate that their vacation or PTO request is for personal reasons, but we don’t recommend it. The specific reasons for the day off shouldn’t affect whether you grant the...

Our company is closing today due to inclement weather. Are we required to pay employees for this day?

by | Apr 9, 2021 | Employment Law, Time & Attendance

Answer from Kyle, PHR: The answer depends on whether the employees are exempt or nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Exempt employees must still be paid when you close due to inclement weather. Nonexempt employees, however, only need to be paid for actual...

The American Rescue Plan Act is Signed into Law

by | Apr 2, 2021 | Employment Law, Time & Attendance

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which is the latest bill to address the ongoing economic impacts of COVID-19, has been signed into law. Most aspects of the law do not directly affect the HR function, but those that do—optional extension of sick and family leave...

An employee of ours had a brief coughing fit today, but she says she just had something caught in her throat. As far as we’ve seen, she hasn’t experienced any symptoms associated with COVID-19 other than this one time. Do we need to send her home just in case? 

by | Jan 25, 2021 | covid-19, Time & Attendance

Answer from Kyle, PHR: No. If you’ve confirmed that she isn’t experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, I would recommend treating this instance of coughing as a one-off event and not indicative of the virus. You can remind her and other employees to stay home if they are...