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Rita in HR is actually two HR attorneys in one: Ellen Aldridge and Pamela Fyfe, both of the Nonprofits Insurance Alliance Group. They advise nonprofits on wrongful termination, wage & hour, discrimination, harassment, and other employment issues—before they are sued—to help keep them out of court.Protecting Staff from Co-worker's Violent Boyfriend
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Q: Help, we have a wonderful staff member who is involved in a domestic violence situation and her boyfriend has threatened to come to our office to harm her . . . what should our nonprofit do to protect her and the other staff?
With one in four women in the United States experiencing domestic violence during their lifetimes (reference), this situation may arise at some point for many nonprofits. It's good that you are paying attention before an incident occurs. As just one example of what can happen, just last month three employees were killed in a workplace shooting in Albuquerque that was sparked by a domestic dispute.
Before we get to steps you should take immediately, let's start by defining domestic violence in the workplace: "violent behavior perpetrated against an employee while the person is working or . . . read more »
> Read moreCan Employees Smoke Medical Marijuana at Work?
Dear Rita: We recently offered a management job to a terrific candidate, with the condition that he pass both a background check and a drug test. When he tested positive for marijuana, he told us not to worry and produced a doctor’s prescription for medical marijuana which he uses to relieve his pain from an injury. I don’t want to set the precedent of having an employee come to work "stoned" but I am not sure what my legal obligations are. Can you help me out? -- Smokin' in Spokane
Dear Smokin': I understand your confusion! If the candidate were taking prescription codeine, you would seek a doctor’s opinion on whether he could perform his job while under the influence. Here's some background information that hopefully "clears the air" (couldn't resist the pun) on this issue:
As of June 2010, laws legalizing possession of marijuana for certain medical purposes exist in fourteen states and the District of Columbia, including: Alaska, . . . read more »
> Read moreIs being a surrogate mother a profession?
Dear Rita: Over a year ago one of our employees at our preschool program became a surrogate mother. She was paid to cover her expenses for carrying the baby, and she had a beautiful baby boy who is now at his new home. Now, only eight months later, she’s doing it again! Do we have to give her the same leave and job protection that we would give any other pregnant woman? And since she is, in effect, getting paid for being pregnant, does this qualify as a second job that is in conflict with her position with our agency? -- A New One On Me
Dear A New One On Me: What I don’t know is the etiquette on baby showers for surrogate moms! What I do know is this: pregnant surrogate mothers. . . read more »
> Read moreLegalities of Nonprofit Internships
Dear Rita: Our nonprofit is getting inquiries from college students asking if we offer summer internships. I would love to have students assist us this summer, but we have no funds to pay them at regular employee wages. Do we have to pay interns? And if so, what is considered a legal stipend? Signed, Worried About Interns
Dear Worried:
I've been barraged recently with people asking: Interns, to pay or not to pay, and how to do either one legally. First I'll look at the issue of whether an intern can be classified as an intern (or is really an under-paid worker) and then look at the specific nonprofit issues of interns vs. volunteers. To allow employees to be exempt from the payment of minimum wages, it is not enough just . . . read more »
Telecommuting and Flexible Work Arrangements: Do Them Right
Flexible hours and working from home are benefits that many nonprofits want to implement, but are not sure how to do it fairly and in a way that acknowledges the value of having people in the office together. Robin Erickson, Director of Finance and Administration for an environmental organization, shares with us two documents that reflect her organization's thinking on these issues: one is a process for analyzing requests, and one is a sample document (reviewed by HR attorneys) for employees who work from home to sign.
Working from home and other alternative work arrangements are desirable for several reasons: flexible hours can help employees and their families; telecommuting can save time and expense and natural resources, and customized arrangements can help retain valuable employees. But it's also hard to manage such flexibility fairly and balance it with the benefits of proximity in mind. At Save the Bay, with a modest office workforce of 26, we knew we couldn't afford to universally approve every request, so we devised a process for evaluating requests.
First, supervisors complete the following questionnaire when they receive a request from an employee:
Alternative Work Arrangement Questionnaire for Supervisors
Supervisors should complete . . . read more »
> Read moreWorking from Home: Sidebar on Legal Issues for Nonprofits
This sidebar article accompanies Telecommuting and Flexible Work Arrangements: Do Them Right.
While Rita [the pseudonym for attorneys Ellen Aldridge and Pamela Fyfe of the Nonprofits Insurance Alliance Group] wholly agrees that alternative work arrangements are a great recruitment and retention tool for Nonprofits, compliance with employment laws cannot be ignored: out of sight should not mean out of mind. If you take the following guidelines into consideration when adopting alternative work arrangements for your staff, you'll stay on the right side of the law. read more »
- Accurately track time of non-exempt employees. Under state laws and . . .
Sample Nonprofit Policy on Social Networking
This sample policy is a companion to the Ask Rita article, "Facebook + Employees = Yikes!"
Our Nonprofit recognizes that many of its employees use social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and MySpace, to name a few. However, employees' use of social media could become a problem if it: read more »
- Interferes with the employee's work
- Is used to harass or discriminate against co-workers or our clients
- Creates a hostile work environment
- Divulges confidential information about our agency or . . .
Facebook + Employees = Yikes!
Dear Rita in HR: I'm hearing horror stories from other executive directors about employees posting confidential information at Facebook, for instance, and lawsuits against nonprofits that looked at these sites as part of reference checks. I myself still pen letters by hand, and I know next to nothing about the pitfalls of social media. Please help me out here! -- Anxious and Ignorant
Dear Anxious: Your befuddlement and anxiety about social networking are not uncommon! I'll try to answer your questions about employee use of social networking, and employer use of the web in checking references on job applicants. Because you mentioned Facebook, I'll focus there, but my advice applies to all social networking, such as Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, YouTube and so forth. At the end of this article you'll find a Sample Social Networking Policy.
Can we regulate what employees say on Facebook?
The answer is "sometimes" and "maybe."
On social networking sites such as Facebook the line between work and non-work use can be fuzzy. What seems like harmless, fun gossip on a personal level can be damaging to the organization whose employee has posted.
Recently, one nonprofit manager posted on Facebook that his agency was considering layoffs and he included a photo of a co-worker leaning . . . read more »
> Read moreCOBRA Subsidy Extension Update
Dear Rita: I have heard that when an employee separates from employment, the federal government will help pay for continuing health insurance in the form of a subsidy. I have so many questions: Is every ex-employee eligible for this help? Are all benefits covered (medical, dental and vision)? Are an employee's dependents eligible for the subsidy? How long will the government help out? And how much of the premium does the federal government subsidize? This seems almost too good to be true! Am I missing something here? Clueless
Dear Clueless: You may think you are clueless but you have asked all the right questions. My answer --posted February 2010 -- will include a little background about the COBRA subsidy benefit.
Stimulus Package - COBRA Subsidy
In February, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly known as the "Stimulus Package." This Act provided a 65% subsidy towards COBRA health care premiums to employees who were involuntarily terminated (laid off) between September 1, 2008 and . . . read more »
> Read moreTerminate Employee After One Year of Sick Leave?
Dear Ask Rita: Our agency limits the maximum time an employee can be out on a medical leave of absence to one year. One employee who has been out with a medical condition is now approaching the one-year mark, but she hasn't been in contact with us for the past four months. I don't have the time to call every employee on leave. Am I OK just sending this employee a termination letter if she does not return at the end of the year? Signed, Overwhelmed in HR
Dear Overwhelmed: This common question -- Can an employer terminate an employee who exceeds the maximum medical leave? -- raises many complex issues. Employees are not infrequently out on extended medical leave for reasons such as stress, cancer treatments, chronic back pain, or other medical condition. What is clear, however, is that you want to tread carefully in this area. In September 2009 the largest Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) settlement in a single lawsuit was announced when . . . read more »
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