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Nonprofit Personnel Files — A Guide from Ask Rita
Dear Rita: We've never paid too much attention to our personnel files, but we've just entered a contract with the county and we think it's time for us to get our act together on this. I know we need a personnel file for each employee …
Can We Discriminate in Favor of People with Disabilities?
Dear Rita: Our agency serves clients with mental health needs, and we like to provide employment opportunities to individuals with mental illness. Can we say in the job advertisement for peer counselor that the applicant should have a mental illness? W …
The HR of Nonprofit Romance
Dear Rita: At our organization, two members of the executive team are married to one another. I’ve been tasked with updating our Employee Handbook. Many of the sample handbooks seem to have anti-nepotism or conflict of interest policies which pr …
Is 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 …
Terminate 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 u …
Wading through the New Family and Medical Leave Act Regulations
New year, new forms to fill out! Though we love that employees can have some flexibility when serious medical and family issues arise, administering the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) can be challenging. Mercifully, Ask Rita offers some guidance o …
Downsizing from Employees to Independent Contractors?
Q: Our nonprofit group home has to downsize and as part of our reorganization we are considering changing some of our employees into independent contractors as a cost-saving measure. If we did that, we wouldn’t have to pay for benefits and …
A Drug and Alcohol Free Workplace Policy for Nonprofits
While there is no one model drug and alcohol free workplace program that is right for all workplaces, there are standard elements of such a program that should be included at your agency. Effective programs typically contain the following elements: …
