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Ask Rita: How Can I Deal with an Employee’s Offensive Social Media Post?
Dear Rita: The recent demonstrations around the country have been of considerable interest to our nonprofit’s staff. We encourage open discussions of the issues, and most of the discussions have been courteous and respectful of everyone’s views. One of …
Ask Rita: For What Work-Related Expenses Must I Reimburse Remote Employees?
Dear Rita: In light of the Covid-19 pandemic orders in our state to stay at home, we have made the transition to our employees working remotely from their homes. This effort has been fairly successful despite the fact that we did not have a formal poli …
Ask Rita: Interns Who Lose Their Academic Connections with Your Nonprofit—Are They Really Interns?
Dear Rita: We’re a nonprofit that provides counseling services to disadvantaged community members. For a number of years, psychology students from a local college have served as interns, shadowing and assisting our counselors in their day-to-day activi …
Ask Rita: How Do We Stop Bullying Behavior?
Dear Rita: Help! Our workplace is becoming populated by a group of bullies. People are becoming more aggressive—to the point of being abusive—in their language and communication style. We’ve received a number of complaints that include rudeness, yellin …
Ask Rita: Are My Independent Contractors Actually Employees?
At the time of the original publication, this article was accurate. However, since that time, a number of changes in the law described in the article have taken place. If you have any questions about classification of Independent Contractors, we sugges …
Ask Rita: What Are My Obligations to an Employee Receiving Infertility Treatments?
Dear Rita: We have an employee who has been trying to start a family for a long time. We have recently been advised that the female employee may be starting treatment for infertility and may need to take time off for those treatments. We are wondering …
Ask Rita: How Do We Handle A Whistleblower?
Dear Rita: I have some concerns about a report I just received from one of the employees in our accounting department, which indicates that our Chief Financial Officer may be engaged in some “accounting tricks.” While not a CPA, the repor …
Ask Rita: How Do We Handle Harassment by an Outsider?
Dear Rita: Yesterday, our front office receptionist reported to me that one of our vendors—the person who stocks the vending machines in our break room—made several sexually charged comments to her, came very close to her face, and touched her hair. Cl …
Ask Rita: Health Benefits for Employees on FMLA Leave?
Dear Rita; With our last series of hires, our growing nonprofit topped 50 staff and became a Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”)-covered employer. We think we know how to properly designate leave as FMLA and navigate the required procedures when an e …
Ask Rita: Is Terminating an At-Will Employee Risk-Free?
Dear Rita: We are considering terminating an employee who has been with us for two years, but we’re concerned we may be at risk if we do. She’s 50 years old and has a hearing disability. She is a nice person but while her performance is okay, she has n …
