Excerpts From December 2005

DOL Issues First-Ever USERRA Regulations

On December 19, the Department of Labor issued its first-ever Regulations on the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). With the large number of military personnel in or returning to the work force, it is important that you know and understand their employment rights. The USERRA does not have a statute of limitations, allows awards of attorneys’ fees and costs, and there is personal liability for managers and HR professionals. Helpful Information can be found at www.dol.gov/elaws/userra.htm and www.dol.gov/vets.

The members of our uniformed services risk their lives to protect us. Learning their rights and our duties as employers is the least we can do for them -- and also a smart business decision. We would be happy to assist you with any questions you may have about military leaves or the employment of a member of the uniformed services.

Drug Testing of Employees Returning from FMLA Leave

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently ruled that an employer may require employees returning from Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave to undergo drug testing within three days of their return to work. However, return-to-work certifications may not be requested from employees who take intermittent leave.

Pay to Play? Do salaried employees have to be paid for snow days?

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), most employees must be paid overtime for hours worked in excess of 40 per week, unless they qualify under one of the many exemptions to that statute. Employees who are not entitled to overtime may, however, lose that exemption if you treat them as non-exempt employees.

So the question remains--do salaried employees have to be paid for snow days (or other time off due to inclement weather)? The answer is ... it depends! Fortunately, the Department of Labor recently issued guidelines to help.

Questions to ask Before Discharging an Employee

Terminations are never pleasant -- for you or the employee. If handled improperly, they can also be the impetus for litigation, which makes the whole process even less pleasant. To help limit liability, before making the decision to terminate an employee, review our termination checklist.

Obviously, there will be some situations (such as violence, or violation of your drug-testing policy) when you will know immediately that the employee needs to be let go. When the decision is not so clear-cut, however, this check list should help you avoid costly lawsuits by unhappy former employees.

Supreme Court Rules on Definition of Compensable Work Time

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that the time employees spend walking between changing and production areas may be compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). IBP, Inc. v. Alvarez. The Court ruled that the donning and doffing of required protective gear defined the starting and stopping of the continuous workday, and ruled that "the few minutes spent walking between the locker rooms and the production area are similar to the time spent walking between two different workplaces on the disassembly line."

Are Your Employees’ Benefits Properly Taxed?

According to the IRS, you may exclude from an employee’s wages the value of de minimis benefits. A de minimis benefit is any property or service you provide to an employee that has so little value, (taking into account how frequently you provide similar benefits to your employees) that accounting for it would be unreasonable or administratively impracticable. Cash, no matter how little, is never excludable as a de minimis benefit, except for occasional meal money or transportation fare.

More information can also be found in Publication 15-B on the IRS website at www.irs.gov/publications.