Welcome back to another edition of HR Basecamp Roundup! This week, we tackle some interesting and common issues that come up in workplaces more often than you think. If you haven’t joined our HR Basecamp Facebook group yet, be sure to join so you can participate in these discussions in real time!
Question: What should I do when an employee quits without giving the two-week notice required by our handbook?
You’re dealing with an employee who gave just three days’ notice, despite signing your handbook that clearly states two weeks are required. You’re now short-staffed and scrambling. Can you hold them accountable? Is this policy enforceable, and if so, how?
Let’s look at what’s legally sound and what’s not.
Giving only 3 days’ notice is legal. There are not any state or federal laws that require employees to provide any advance notice whatsoever of their resignation. Likewise, no law requires that you as the employer provide any advance notice of a termination (there are however some notice rules pertaining to large layoffs).
While it’s common to request two weeks’ notice as a courtesy, you can’t require it without risking the integrity of the at-will relationship. Doing so in your employee handbook or an offer letter risks turning that entire document into a contract, which undermines your flexibility and could expose you to legal claims from employees.
If you do put in writing that advance notice is required, it’s still very difficult to actually enforce that. The simple truth is that you can’t force someone to come to work when they don’t want to be there. That means you have to lean on some type of penalty the employee will want to avoid. That in itself is difficult to legally enforce, and usually that court battle costs more than its worth (and doesn’t solve the issue of the person not giving notice to begin with).
For key roles, such as clinical providers, if a longer notice period is essential, you can explore a written agreement that includes a notice requirement. However, it must be drafted carefully by a professional for your specific circumstances, and you need to be trained on the ramifications. Once you enter into contracts, you’re on a different legal playing field, and everything from surrounding circumstances to implementation becomes relevant in disputes.
Keep in mind that if you are asking a high level professional to sign this agreement, you can expect that they’ll hold you to that same notice requirement. We rarely work with an employer who is happy about giving advance notice to an employee they need to terminate. More often than not the employer is desperate for any possible loophole to be able to let the employee go quickly. The best case scenario is usually hoping the employee will accept you paying them for the entire notice period in lieu of them working.
When someone leaves without warning, the disruption is real, especially in small practices. It’s normal to feel frustrated. But the goal is long-term consistency and clarity, not reactive enforcement.
Focus on setting the tone. Build a culture where giving notice is expected and appreciated, not mandated. Treat a departing employee with respect, and use offboarding conversations to reinforce why short notice harms the team. This plants the seed for the behavior you’re looking for in the rest of your team.
If you’re looking to secure more notice from specific roles (like a provider), a formal contract could be an option, but it must be thoughtfully and narrowly written. And once you’re in contract territory, every surrounding circumstance becomes relevant in a dispute.
But by setting expectations clearly, leading by example, and creating a workplace where people are willing to give notice, you can reduce the chances of being caught off guard, without giving up your at-will protections.
Question: I recently hired a new assistant. This is her third week. I overheard her tell a patient she’s expecting. I didn’t ask her about it, but I checked her social media and saw a pregnancy announcement. Can I bring this up? We’re a small practice, and this is our first pregnancy. If she’s going on maternity leave within the next six months, we need to start preparing. We’re also looking for a policy, can you help?
Maternity leave and related policies are complex. We could write an entire guide and still not cover it all, but here’s what you need to know to get started.
Yes, you can talk to her about it, but how you bring it up matters. Since you overheard her disclose the pregnancy, the information is out there, so it’s appropriate to ask about it. She may even know that you heard her talk about it, so pretending that you don’t have that knowledge can make things uncomfortable.
That said, pregnancy is a protected medical condition, and not everyone is ready to talk. Tread carefully and respectfully.
Now, about checking her social media: We get the curiosity, but it’s a risky habit. Once you look, you can’t unsee what you’ve seen. If you’ve learned about fertility history, missed work, or anything else personal, that knowledge becomes part of what you “know” as an employer, and that could complicate future decisions.
Since you overheard her say she’s pregnant, you have a natural opening for a private, supportive conversation.
Do not mention the social media post. Stick with what you heard. Let her know you’re here to support her and would appreciate being kept in the loop when she’s ready to share more. Be sure she has received any pregnancy-related notices required by your state or city.
If you don’t already have a policy in your handbook, this is a good moment to talk with a professional about getting one in place that fits your state laws and the realities of your practice. Once you open the conversation about pregnancy, a legally defined process begins. And doing it right protects both you and your employee.
If you have 50 or more employees, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies, offering job-protected leave and specific requirements. If you have fewer than 50 employees, protections and requirements vary by state. And even when no leave law exists, there are still federal and state laws that apply to pregnancy, accommodation, and how you manage communication and leave.
The takeaway: Don’t guess. You need a comprehensive, legally sound maternity and pregnancy accommodation policy in place, ideally before you open the conversation.
This kind of news can bring logistical stress, especially in a small office. But with the right mix of solid HR guidance and human empathy, you can turn it into an opportunity to build clarity, trust, and a better workplace. Here is what we know: when an employee feels genuinely supported during these big moments, it can only help them want to give back.
To answer your question, yes, we can help create all the necessary policies to handle this and any other issue that may arise in your business. Not only that, we can provide all the necessary forms, paperwork, and hands-on guidance as the situation unfolds.
Question: I hired an office manager a couple of months ago under the belief that they had previous OM experience. They may have said that, but it’s clear to me now that they exaggerated their experience. I don’t want to pay them for a role they can’t honestly fill. Can I change their title and lower their compensation?
Because employment is at-will (unless you’re in Montana), and assuming there is no contract in place, you can demote employees for any lawful reason, including performance issues. However, a demotion is considered an adverse employment action, which means your first step should be risk assessment. Do you have documentation showing that the employee isn’t meeting expectations? That includes one-on-one notes, performance reviews, or emails that illustrate performance gaps.
But there’s more to it. The job description you provided, the interview questions you asked, and the answers the employee gave during hiring also help form the record. If the employee misrepresented their experience, that may support the change; however, it’s essential to back all decisions up with clear facts and effective communication.
It’s worth reflecting on how the candidate got through your hiring process in the first place. Many practice owners rely on yes-or-no questions during interviews, which makes it easy for candidates to tell you what they think you want to hear. Without realizing it, you may have set the stage for misrepresentation simply by not asking the right types of questions and failing to couple that with skills testing.
That’s where behavioral interviewing comes in. Instead of asking, “Are you good at juggling schedules?” a behavioral approach would ask, “Tell me about a time you had to manage a scheduling conflict between a provider and a front desk team member where the patient was impacted negatively.” These types of questions require specific examples from real experience, which makes it harder for a candidate to fake their qualifications. Not only will you get an answer to the questions, but you can also gain additional insight by listening for what is said between the lines. If the candidate starts slamming everyone at their last job during the interview, you can count on that behavior continuing once they are hired.
If you didn’t use this method during your original interview, now is a great time to revisit your process. We’ve created a Behavioral Interview Section within our Hiring Guide to help you reframe how you assess candidates going forward.
Before you take action and throughout the process, consider having one last clear, honest conversation. Share what’s not working and explain what success in the role looks like. Ask whether they feel capable of meeting those expectations. This approach does two things: it gives them a fair shot to improve, and it strengthens your position if you do move forward with a demotion.
Also, weigh the emotional and cultural impact. A demotion can affect morale, motivation, and trust. If integrity or judgment is already in question (you called them a liar), it may make more sense to part ways entirely, rather than try to make a lower-level role work.
Take all of this into account before meeting with your employee, and be prepared for her to not be agreeable to a change. We rarely see employees continue to stay with a practice for long if they’ve been demoted. This is particularly the case when a management title is being removed. It can feel embarrassing for the employee since it will be evident to the team what happened. A demotion also typically comes with a pay cut, and that new pay rate is likely not meeting what the person was looking for when they took their job with you.
If you’re a backstageHR user, remember you can use the platform to store documentation, log coaching conversations, and track changes to employee status. The right tools, which include all your notes and signed job descriptions, make decisions like this easier to manage and easier to defend.
Whether this person was truly deceptive or whether your hiring process lacked strong behavioral questions and skill testing, demoting someone you no longer trust rarely leads to success. The better path may be to pause, take what you’ve learned from this experience, and revisit your hiring process from the ground up.
We recommend downloading our Hiring Guide, which includes tools like the Difference Maker worksheet to help you identify what success really looks like in this role. From there, develop behavioral questions and skill-based tests before you even write the next job ad. Post the new ad, evaluate candidates using this layered approach, and bring in someone who can meet the demands of the position—and prove it throughout your process.
Extra Credit Reading: Hiring Guide with Difference Maker, Behavioral Interviewing and Skills Testing.
Extra Credit Listening: Episode 407: Using Social Media in Candidate Screenings
Friendly Disclaimer: This information is general in nature and is not intended to provide legal advice or replace individual guidance about a specific issue with an attorney or HR expert. The information on this page is general human resources guidance based on applicable local, state, and/or federal U.S. employment law that is believed to be current as of the date of publication. Note that CEDR is not a law firm, and as the law is always changing, you should consult with a qualified attorney or HR expert who is familiar with all of the facts of your situation before making a decision about any human resources or employment law matter.
A Blog Written by CEDR, written by HR Experts to help you run your practice.
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