#Off the clock update#
#Off the clock professional#

If a supervisor sends an employee an e-mail off hours and requires a response then, he can't later claim he did not know the employee worked unpaid off the clock.

#Off the clock update#

If an employer allows employees to check their e-mails at home, the employees have to be trained to update their time sheets to reflect this work, Birk reminded. Sometimes nonexempt employees check e-mails remotely while they are off duty, which violates the Fair Labor Standards Act if they aren't being paid for work time. HR should remind managers who pester employees on leave that the managers can be held personally liable for a violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, she said. Cut off access to office systems during leave if employees still try to work, Birk recommended. 'That's a complete violation of leave rights,' Birk said.Įmployees on leave may want to work, but if the doctor says, 'no,' that has to be honored. Sometimes managers are to blame, calling the worker who is on leave to ask work-related questions or even requiring the employee to come in. One common challenge for employers is overly conscientious employees who are on medical leave but work off the clock. However, the agency also has said that placement on unpaid leave or termination might be justified given the conduct underlying the arrest, such as if an assistant principal is arrested for touching students inappropriately. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2012 released guidance that an arrest record alone may not be used in an employment decision. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act also might be violated if arrest records are unlawfully used in employment decisions. Depending on the jurisdiction, the leave might have to be with pay so it's not an adverse action, Hux noted. For example, in Illinois and California, employers cannot use an arrest as the basis for an adverse employment action.īut, in some states, an employer might lawfully suspend the employee pending resolution of the arrest.

Harassment of co-workers also should not be tolerated on social media, Birk noted.Īs for arrests, Kristin Michaels, an attorney with McDermott Will & Emery in Chicago, noted that state law governs whether an employer can take an employment action based on an arrest and that the laws vary widely from state to state.

#Off the clock professional#

'Employers should also communicate with supervisors that they are expected to be professional at all times around their subordinates and that they will face consequences for violating the company's anti-harassment policies.'

Off-the-clock work while on medical leave or off duty.Īn anti-harassment policy can be broad enough to cover when co-workers are socializing and one employee starts to harass another based on gender, race, national origin or other prohibited factor, according to Jay Hux, an attorney with Fisher Phillips in Chicago.Įven off premises and off hours, an employer will want to investigate if a boss sexually harasses a subordinate, for example.Įmployers should clarify that harassment will not be tolerated while traveling for business, Habinsky said.

She said the off-duty conduct that might need to be addressed in workplace policies may include: Lorie Birk is vice president of member services in Scottsdale, Ariz., for the Mountain States Employers Council and a lawyer licensed to practice in Arizona, California and Texas. 'If the policy is too broad, employers risk running afoul of state laws protecting employee privacy and federal law prohibiting employees from interfering with employees' protected concerted activities.' When a business prefers to adopt a separate policy addressing off-duty conduct, the employer should be careful to craft it narrowly, said Jason Habinsky, an attorney with Haynes and Boone in New York City. 'Likewise, the discipline policy should include mention conduct on- or off-duty that harms the business interest or reputation of the company, including outside employment that creates a conflict of interest or criminal activity that would disqualify the employee from employment.' 'So, the anti-harassment policy should clearly mention that it covers behavior both on- and off-duty, and on and off the work premises,' he said. 'What I would prefer to see is off-duty conduct included in the various policies for which it is most relevant,' said Anthony Byergo, an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in Seattle and Kansas City, Mo. But how should an employer address off-duty misconduct-in broad company policies, such as anti-harassment and discipline policies, or in stand-alone off-duty company policies? An employee who is off duty isn't necessarily beyond an employer's reach.