People First

Construct discharge occurs when an employer creates a hostile environment causing the employee to quit. If the employee can prove the employer made their life miserable to force them to leave the organization, this can cause legal issues for the employer. The employee would definitely be eligible for unemployment. Examples of construct discharge could be...

There are different types of disciplinary processes. Two main ones are progressive and positive. Positive discipline is exactly what the name is, it positively deals with employee performance issues and works closely with the employee to assist them in developing skills or behaviors to help improve the areas of deficiencies. If the employee doesn’t improve,...

Non-compete Agreements legally bind an employee from competing with another employer for a period of time after their employment terminates. They are typically used when an employer has proprietary information or materials that could cause issues if their competition gets the information. Non-competes need to be properly written or they may not be held up...

The Fair Standards Labor Act requires employers to properly pay employees for their job duties. This includes overtime, minimum wage and child labor. Keep in mind some states have legislation that is stricter on employers and the rule of thumb whichever legislation benefits the employee more is the one to comply with. Family Medical Leave...

Today, I’d like to talk about laws that protect employees from discrimination and harassment. First there is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. This deals with the protection of certain classes of individuals from being discriminated or harassed against. Protected classes include race, color, national origin, religion, and sex. Title VII covers all areas...

One of my supervisors didn’t show up for work because they partied too hard at a superbowl party.  Can I dock their pay? There is a difference between whether that person is exempt or nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act.   They are the rules behind docking an exempt person’s pay? It’s critical to know...

I was recently asked what to pay a nonexempt employee who was traveling from Florida to China for business.   I jokingly responded, don’t send them.  It’s a complicated process especially on flights that take a day or two.  Then you deal with the return flight and in both cases the time changes.   There is actually...

There are specific guidelines to follow when paying an employee to be on-call. The rule of thumb is that if being on-call restricts or limits the employee from having the freedom to come and go, the they must be compensated for the time they are on-call. For example, if the employer requires the employee to...

The IRS sets the guidelines on who is considered an employee (receives a W-2) and a contractor (receives a 1099). Employers need to make sure they have properly classified these individuals because the government is coming down hard on violators. It’s important to understand that a contractor is not an employee. They don’t receive benefits....

There is a federal minimum wage. In addition, many states have their own minimum wage which sometimes is higher than the federal minimum wage. The rule of thumb is whatever benefits the employee more is what is to be followed. So knowing what the minimum wage in your state is important. Anyone in the hospitality...