It’s time again for our HR Basecamp roundup. If you’re new here, we take the most popular submitted questions from our HR Basecamp Facebook group every other week and go more in-depth on the answer. Join the over 10,000 other office managers and business owners here to submit your questions and participate in the discussion!
Podcasts and Resources in the Roundup:
One of my offices unfortunately sustained some major damage after a bit of bad weather. It will be closed for a month, maybe longer. How do I manage pay and scheduling for the employees who work at this office?
The legal side of things: If you can’t have people work due to the damage to your office, you’re not required to pay your team. If they have paid time off benefits, they can opt to use them.
There’s one caveat - exempt employees who work any portion of the week before you close must receive their full salary for the week. The same rule applies when you reopen. If they don’t work any portion of the week, then you don’t have to pay them.
You’re also not required to schedule employees their normal hours if you don’t have somewhere for them to work. If there’s nothing available, employees may choose to seek unemployment compensation for this temporary reduction in hours. Remember, all employees have the right to file. Whether their claim is approved or not is up to the board.
PS: The rules for exempt classifications just changed. Are you up to date?
Now for the human approach: Unexpectedly losing work is obviously going to be difficult for your staff. You should clearly communicate with your employees as soon as possible about the fact that they still have a job and try to give them an estimation of when you'll be back up and running.
Like we mentioned above, the reduction in hours may lead to employees filing for unemployment. Getting unemployment benefits, however, is not a full replacement for their regular pay. To help your team during this difficult time, as well as to try to mitigate potentially losing them to another job, it’s a good idea to consider any way you can help them with some income.
This doesn’t mean having to pay them for all their time off - though that of course is something you can do. But you also may have the ability to continue to give them some hours to help take care of administrative tasks, rescheduling patients, and catching up on other projects like updating your SOPs.
If you have multiple office locations, see if you can offer them hours to help out at another office. You could also reach out to your own colleagues and see if anyone could use temporary help while your office is closed. If you are helping your team find temporary work, you are taking a big stressor off of them and they are likely to be very appreciative of your efforts.
Podcasts and Resources in the Roundup:
One of my offices unfortunately sustained some major damage after a bit of bad weather. It will be closed for a month, maybe longer. How do I manage pay and scheduling for the employees who work at this office?
The legal side of things: If you can’t have people work due to the damage to your office, you’re not required to pay your team. If they have paid time off benefits, they can opt to use them.
There’s one caveat - exempt employees who work any portion of the week before you close must receive their full salary for the week. The same rule applies when you reopen. If they don’t work any portion of the week, then you don’t have to pay them.
You’re also not required to schedule employees their normal hours if you don’t have somewhere for them to work. If there’s nothing available, employees may choose to seek unemployment compensation for this temporary reduction in hours. Remember, all employees have the right to file. Whether their claim is approved or not is up to the board.
PS: The rules for exempt classifications just changed. Are you up to date?
Now for the human approach: Unexpectedly losing work is obviously going to be difficult for your staff. You should clearly communicate with your employees as soon as possible about the fact that they still have a job and try to give them an estimation of when you'll be back up and running.
Like we mentioned above, the reduction in hours may lead to employees filing for unemployment. Getting unemployment benefits, however, is not a full replacement for their regular pay. To help your team during this difficult time, as well as to try to mitigate potentially losing them to another job, it’s a good idea to consider any way you can help them with some income.
This doesn’t mean having to pay them for all their time off - though that of course is something you can do. But you also may have the ability to continue to give them some hours to help take care of administrative tasks, rescheduling patients, and catching up on other projects like updating your SOPs.
If you have multiple office locations, see if you can offer them hours to help out at another office. You could also reach out to your own colleagues and see if anyone could use temporary help while your office is closed. If you are helping your team find temporary work, you are taking a big stressor off of them and they are likely to be very appreciative of your efforts.
I think my treatment coordinator may be close to retirement. They are almost 60 but they haven’t said anything to me about it yet. Can I ask them what their plan is?
The legal side of things: At a federal level, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act applies when you have twenty or more employees and protects employees over 40 years of age. However, many state laws include age as a protected class even when you have less than twenty employees, and some states have laws protecting younger employees as well.
Asking about an older worker’s retirement plans before the employee themselves have brought them up is inherently risky. Unless the employee has done or said something to indicate they are wanting to stop working, you should not assume the employee’s plans simply because of their age. It could be seen as an attempt to push them out due to their age and could open you up to an age discrimination claim.
Now for the human approach: From an HR perspective, we want to know why you want to ask them when they plan on retiring. If there’s nothing specific you can point to other than their age in regard to why you are thinking about this, we do not recommend broaching the subject.
You may be thinking you’re helping them by showing that you are supportive of their decision and are happy to plan for their retirement with them. But from the employee’s perspective, they are very likely to feel like you are thinking less of them due to their age and looking for a reason to get rid of them.
If you do have concerns related to mistakes being made or other performance issues, we recommend sticking only to the objective performance-based observations and not bringing up age or retirement unless the employee themselves mentions it. You can address these issues the same way you would with any other employee and go through the progressive corrective coaching process.
Extra Credit Listening: Episode 410:The Anatomy of an EEOC Age Discrimination Complaint
One of my employees passed away and now her mom is here asking for the final paycheck. Am I supposed to hand it over?
The legal side of things: In short, no. You have a legal obligation to issue any final pay that is due, and this now includes making sure you are issuing it to the correct person. The person who shows up at your office asking for the money is not necessarily the person who has a legal right to receive it.
You need to find out what your state law says about handling the final paycheck. State law may tell you to issue the check to the surviving spouse or dependent, or it may say to do nothing until you receive legal notice from the estate regarding where funds are to be issued. It’s best to take your time to be careful here so that you do not inadvertently give the final pay to someone who has no legal right to it.
Now for the human approach: If you have family members or friends of the deceased contacting you about your employee’s pay or belongings, express your condolences and tell them that you are in the process of confirming what you need to do with all items. Don’t make any promises about anything before you know what you will actually need to be doing, but express that you understand how stressful a situation this is and that you are doing what you can to help.
For yourself and your team, the death of an employee can be an incredibly emotional and difficult ordeal. For some team members, dealing with a coworker’s death can be extremely traumatic. Keep an open door policy and let your staff know you are to support them.
Some employees may request time off to attend funeral services, or seek counseling, which we recommend you try to accommodate as much as possible. Some employees may express emotion openly and some may not express any at all. Everyone grieves differently, so be prepared for the different ways you may see them process what’s happened. This blog provides additional guidance for how to work with grieving employees.
The legal side of things: At a federal level, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act applies when you have twenty or more employees and protects employees over 40 years of age. However, many state laws include age as a protected class even when you have less than twenty employees, and some states have laws protecting younger employees as well.
Asking about an older worker’s retirement plans before the employee themselves have brought them up is inherently risky. Unless the employee has done or said something to indicate they are wanting to stop working, you should not assume the employee’s plans simply because of their age. It could be seen as an attempt to push them out due to their age and could open you up to an age discrimination claim.
Now for the human approach: From an HR perspective, we want to know why you want to ask them when they plan on retiring. If there’s nothing specific you can point to other than their age in regard to why you are thinking about this, we do not recommend broaching the subject.
You may be thinking you’re helping them by showing that you are supportive of their decision and are happy to plan for their retirement with them. But from the employee’s perspective, they are very likely to feel like you are thinking less of them due to their age and looking for a reason to get rid of them.
If you do have concerns related to mistakes being made or other performance issues, we recommend sticking only to the objective performance-based observations and not bringing up age or retirement unless the employee themselves mentions it. You can address these issues the same way you would with any other employee and go through the progressive corrective coaching process.
Extra Credit Listening: Episode 410:The Anatomy of an EEOC Age Discrimination Complaint
One of my employees passed away and now her mom is here asking for the final paycheck. Am I supposed to hand it over?
The legal side of things: In short, no. You have a legal obligation to issue any final pay that is due, and this now includes making sure you are issuing it to the correct person. The person who shows up at your office asking for the money is not necessarily the person who has a legal right to receive it.
You need to find out what your state law says about handling the final paycheck. State law may tell you to issue the check to the surviving spouse or dependent, or it may say to do nothing until you receive legal notice from the estate regarding where funds are to be issued. It’s best to take your time to be careful here so that you do not inadvertently give the final pay to someone who has no legal right to it.
Now for the human approach: If you have family members or friends of the deceased contacting you about your employee’s pay or belongings, express your condolences and tell them that you are in the process of confirming what you need to do with all items. Don’t make any promises about anything before you know what you will actually need to be doing, but express that you understand how stressful a situation this is and that you are doing what you can to help.
For yourself and your team, the death of an employee can be an incredibly emotional and difficult ordeal. For some team members, dealing with a coworker’s death can be extremely traumatic. Keep an open door policy and let your staff know you are to support them.
Some employees may request time off to attend funeral services, or seek counseling, which we recommend you try to accommodate as much as possible. Some employees may express emotion openly and some may not express any at all. Everyone grieves differently, so be prepared for the different ways you may see them process what’s happened. This blog provides additional guidance for how to work with grieving employees.
