Q. Someone from outside our company approached our HR vice president wishing to discuss a “personnel matter.” During the meeting, he presented the vice president with a set of union authorization cards signed by over half of the company’s employees. As the vice president flipped through the authorization cards, the individual stated that he is a union business agent and that his union represents a majority of an appropriate bargaining unit at the company. Are our employees entitled to an election to determine if they will be represented by the union?

Q. How do bonuses affect the overtime rate calculation under the Fair Labor Standards Act?

Q. If an employee is already on probation when she becomes pregnant, can we continue progressive discipline measures, including possible discharge?

Q. For several years, Fridays have been “casual days” for our employees. Beer and wine are served beginning around 4:30 p.m. We hate to stop this practice because our employees seem to enjoy it and there has never been a problem. Should we stop?

Q. One of my employees who recently quit has failed to pay back a personal charge he made on our corporate credit card. Can I simply deduct the amount of the charge from his last paycheck or withhold his final paycheck until he pays for the charge?

Q. I recently fired an employee for performance problems. At the end of the termination meeting, he asked for a copy of his personnel file. Do I have to give discharged employees copies of their personnel files?

Q. Can noncompetition agreements be enforced against at-will employees in Texas?

Q. Is an employer required to pay workers for their unused vacation days when they resign or are terminated?

Q. Can you give me a rundown on the “card check” law everyone is so afraid will transform labor-management relations?

Q. What kind of documentation can an employer request to verify a worker’s contention that he suffers from a learning disability that requires accommodation? Must we pay for the evaluation?

Q. I recently heard that employers must now use a new I-9 form for new employees. Is this true?

Q. Our company just received a citation from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The proposed penalty is only $120. Is it worth getting a lawyer involved, or should we just go ahead and pay the fine?

Q. May an employer include language in its sexual harassment policy imposing discipline on employees who bring false claims of harassment?

Q. To accommodate out-of-state applicants, we want to conduct medical exams when workers interview on-site for jobs. The test results would be sealed and would be reviewed only if an applicant were offered and accepted a conditional offer of employment. This would reduce the number of trips an applicant would have to make before starting work. Would such an arrangement violate the ADA?

Q. I am the HR manager of a company with about 350 employees. I have just learned that the company is eliminating one product line and, as a result, there will be a layoff in that department. One of the employees who would be laid off is on FMLA leave. How do I handle this situation? ...

Q. How do we handle an employee who is on an indefinite leave of absence and does not know when he will be able to return to work?

Q. One of our employees recently developed a condition that makes it difficult for her to perform the essential functions of her job. She has asked to be transferred to a job she can perform. Are we obligated to do this?

Q. We are closing one facility and laying off a large number of workers. In lieu of immediate layoffs, however, we want to temporarily transfer some maintenance employees from another facility 800 miles away. They have agreed to perform this work, which will take about three months. Do we have to pay them for the time spent traveling to the new work location, which will occur over a weekend?

Q. The Department of Labor’s form for the Employer’s Response to Employee Request for Family or Medical Leave (WH-381) inquires whether the worker is a “key employee.” How should I mark those boxes? I consider most of our workers to be key employees, and I do not want to offend anyone by suggesting that they are not.

Q. I have an employee who is taking leave under the FMLA. The company is continuing to pay the same portion of her health insurance premiums that we paid while she was working. If the worker fails to return to work when her protected leave expires, may the company recover the premium payments made during her leave period?

Q. We have an employee returning from a leave taken under the FMLA. His physician has issued a fitness-for-duty certificate. However, we question the worker’s ability to perform his old job because the length of his absence was too short for him to recover completely. Also, the fitness-for-duty certificate simply states that he is “able” to work, without addressing his specific job duties. Can we send him to another physician for a second fitness-for-duty examination?

Q. I recently discovered that an employee who handles my company’s accounts receivable has filed for bankruptcy. Can I discharge this employee?

Q. Is it becoming a practice among employers to quit conducting employee evaluations?

Q. We have an employee on FMLA leave. Can we replace her and find a different job for her when she returns?

Q. My company posted an internal job position for 24 hours and only one person applied. She got the job. This person knew about the position and the posting because she works in HR. Is this legal to do in the state of Texas?