Q. We are considering layoffs but would like to avoid them. Can we cut employees’ pay because of tough economic times?
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Articles by Carl Crosby Lehmann
Gray Plant Mooty
Minneapolis, Minnesota
www.GPMLaw.com
Carl.Lehmann@GPMLaw.com
(612) 632-3234
Carl has significant experience in advising employers on personnel matters, drafting employment policies and agreements, and litigating employers’ interests in both administrative and judicial proceedings. Carl’s practice includes advising employers in personnel-related matters, including terminations, discrimination and sexual harassment issues, defamation claims, employment and independent contractor agreements, noncompete and confidentiality agreements, wage-hour concerns, voluntary and mandatory affirmative action policies, and insurance issues.
Carl Crosby Lehmann
Q. Is it OK for our company to prohibit employees from speaking in languages other than English in front of our customers?
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Q. We have an employee out on FMLA leave and have just learned that she will not be able to return to work when her FMLA entitlement expires. Should we go ahead and send her a termination notice now?
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Q. With the change in the seasons, an employee who claims to suffer from seasonal affective disorder wants to put up a special lighting fixture by her desk that she says will provide natural-spectrum light. Some employees complained last year when she put up this light that it was bothersome and distracting to them. Do we have to let the employee use the light? What do we tell other employees?
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Q. Flu season is coming and we are concerned. If employees have the flu or show flu symptoms, can we require them to stay home long enough to make sure they are no longer contagious? Would we have to pay them for time away?
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Q. It looks like it will be necessary for our company to lay off several employees. Can you tell me whether we are required to pay severance? If so, how much?
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Q. My company asks employees who receive raises or discretionary bonuses not to discuss them with other employees. An employee recently took issue with this request and told me the company’s practice is illegal. Is that true?
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It’s important for employers to plan to prevent workplace violence and respond to it if prevention fails. While every employer needs a customized plan that fits its particular workplace, good violence-prevention strategies share common elements.
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Q. We have an employee in our manufacturing facility who has brought numerous workers’ compensation claims. This has cost us a lot of money. Do we have to continue to employ this person? His position involves a continued risk of physical injury.
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Q. I recently was talking with another manager at the company who told me that we had hired an independent contractor to work in our records room doing filing and data storage tasks. We also have employees performing that job. Could that cause any problems?
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