Susan Fentin MA
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There are several tests that are used to determine employee status, and the IRS test is only one of them. The more restrictive test, and the one that you really need to pass in Massachusetts, is the Massachusetts Independent Contractor law, which …
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No there is no specific time period for retaining disciplinary notices in employees' personnel files. Massachusetts law says that if an employee wants to have something removed from his/her personnel file, he/seh can ask, but if the employer doesn'…
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Carolyn, I do not think you need a specific "policy" per se, simply put a sign on the monitor that says it is not to be used for personal viewing without approval from ______(whoever will control the permission to use the monitor in the conference r…
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And one more comment: Massachusetts law does not allow for a debt set off against a final paycheck unless the employee has consented to such a deduction in writing, so unless the agreement so provided, you would not be able to take any remaining de…
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Massachusetts law requires that employees who are scheduled to work for six hours or more receive a 1/2 hour unpaid lunch break. Employees may not work through their lunch break if they work longer than 6 hours unless they have waived this break an…
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Just to clarify: If you are going to suspend an exempt employee without pay, you can only do so in weekly increments. An exempt employee is entitled to full salary for any week in which he/she does any work except under the exemptions I detailed a…
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[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 01-17-02 AT 04:22PM (CST) by jrobb (admin)[/font][p]Christine, if you are solely concerned with discipline, your source is correct. Exempt employees may not be suspended without pay for less than a full…
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One of our clients has a similar program, and while I am not at liberty to send it to you, I can outline the elements for you if you're interested. I can be reached at (413) 737-4753 or by email at [email]sfentin@skoler-abbott.com[/email] if you'd …
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You are on the right track here. You can agree to reduce the hours of work of your salaried employees and reduce their salary accordingly. Take care, however, not to try to cram 40 hours of work into a 4 day work week or you might be accused of tr…
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I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you asking whether such a plan is permissible under ERISA or whether it is discriminatory because the amount changes as the employee ages or whether it is okay to have a plan that treats exempt individ…
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To be exempt from overtime, an employee must fit one of three general exempt categories, executive, professional, or administrative (there are also some wild card categories, not applicable here). Your accountants would only be eligible for exemptio…
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Also be aware that you cannot allow an employee to use this "comp time" in another pay period, so if your pay periods run Wednesday through Tuesday, you would not be able to do this with overtime hours worked in the early part of the week and make u…
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Any physical or mental condition could be considered a disability or handicap if it is a substantial limitation in a major life activity. In some cases, OCD could definitely be considered a handicap (remember in Massachusetts the standard for handi…
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Your HR professional friends are indeed doing you a favor. If the employee is disabled because of childbirth or pregnancy, she would be entitled to STD benefits, just as she would be entitled to those benefits if she were disabled from any other ph…
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STD and LTD benefits vary widely, depending upon whether the company is self insured for these benefits or whether they provide them through an insurance plan. Some companies offer STD policies that are optional and that employees can purchase if t…
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She can make a charity her beneficiary. Surely she has some worthy cause she would like to support. Ask your insurance carrier about the procedures for establishing this. Good luck. Susan Fentin Skoler, Abbott & Presser
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Good question, Sharon. Failure to pay plan premiums is not a "qualifying event" for purposes of COBRA, so there is no need to send a COBRA notice if you cancel benefits because the employee has failed to send in his/her check. If you have any other…
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Christine, I don't know the first thing about French Social Security (you do have interesting issues, don't you?), but I do speak and read French, if that would be helpful. Alternatively, if you have access to a university or college, there will li…
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Unless there's some Michigan law that governs this area, I'm not sure that the previous response is correct. Under the ADA you are required to make reasonable accommodations for a disability unless doing so would constitute an undue hardship. You ar…
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I suspect the reason that you haven't gotten a response is because your question involves the most complicated statute ever enacted by Congress, ERISA, which controls what you can and cannot do with regard to some employee benefits. The lawyer answe…
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I'd be cautious here. The issue will be first of all whether the employee is disabled under state and federal anti-discrimination statutes. It's not clear from your description of the restrictions on the employee's functions whether she is "substant…
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Dan, in order to be eligible for unemployment, the individual must be available for and actively seeking work. If the employee will be activated to full time reserve status, it would appear that he would not qualify for unemployment benefits. In a…
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Practically speaking, it might be easier to keep each employee's leave record on an attendance calendar in their personnel file, together with the other documents that pertain to that leave request. The first month of the calendar should be the fir…
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Christine, I am prohibited from giving specific legal advice for your situation by ethical considerations, but I can say that intermittent leave after the birth or adoption of a child is only permissible when agreed to by the employer. Under the re…
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There is no specific form. The employee is simply required to give you notice of her expected date of departure on leave (subject to the baby's opinion on the matter!) and her intention to return eight weeks later. That's it. This can be done by …
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It appears that, under your policy, you calculate an employee's available leave by counting forward from the first date of any FMLA leave. If that is the case, in essence, you are using the "same year" for every employee, because any employee who g…
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The short answer to your follow up question is "yes," but some explanation is in order. There are two separate issues here. Although there is a divergence of opinion on her eligibility for FMLA leave, the concensus appears to be that she is entitl…
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Remember that your policy should specify whether that leave is counted on a calendar year or within a rolling twelve month basis. This can make a difference as to whether the accumulated leave amounts to more than the legally mandated limit. Good lu…
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This may also be governed by state specific law in Virginia. You should check with employment counsel in your state for the definitive response.
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Maternity leave in Massachusetts is governed by the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act, Mass. Gen. L. c. 149 s. 105D, which provides that female employees who have completed their introductory period of employment or have been employed for at leas…