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Ask Rita: Workplace Discrimination Investigations–Do We Need to Hire an External Professional?
Dear Rita, We are a social service nonprofit that has, at this point, 35 employees. Until now, we have had a very good—some might say remarkable—history of maintaining good employee relations, with no complaints for discrimination or harassment in the …
Ask Rita: FFCRA Paid Leaves 2021—Help!
Dear Rita, In March of last year, when the pandemic hit, we spent a lot of time implementing the required Covid-19-related paid leaves of absence. We drafted leave forms and gave notice to our employees of the right to take these leaves, and we are ver …
Ask Rita: Recording Conversations in the Workplace — Do I Have to Put Up with This?
We want to discipline an employee for an unauthorized recording of our conversations. What are our options?
Ask Rita: We Can Require Employees to Receive the Covid-19 Vaccine—But Should We?
Dear Rita, Our nonprofit has several employees who provide a variety of direct services personally to our clients, in our offices as well as other locations. We have taken great measures since the pandemic struck to protect both our clients and our emp …
Ask Rita: Can Our Paid Employees Also Do Volunteer Work for Us?
Dear Rita: We operate a nonprofit housing clinic for homeless persons. The pandemic, along with the holidays, has inspired some of our employees to inquire about doing extra work for us as volunteers. We don’t normally use volunteers. However, we appre …
Ask Rita: What Is a Hostile Work Environment?
How to handle use of the label when a protected class isn’t involved Dear Rita: I’m uncertain how to handle a growing trend among my employees. Whenever some of our employees are unhappy about the way things are going at work, they say they are working …
Ask Rita: How Can We Help Our Employee Care for Family During Covid-19?
Dear Rita: Our nonprofit has an employee who has been with us five years. She is a good worker who has always been able to balance work and personal needs well. Until the Covid-19 pandemic hit. This employee has three school-age children whose school c …
Ask Rita: I’m Confused Over EXEMPT vs. NONEXEMPT and SALARIED vs. HOURLY Employees
Dear Rita: I’ve recently started a new position in my nonprofit’s HR department. I’ve been instructed that my duties will involve classifying employees as exempt or nonexempt. In my experience in other HR departments, I always classified employees as e …
Ask Rita: How Does the Americans with Disabilities Act Impact Our Efforts to Keep Employees Safe During the Covid-19 Pandemic?
Dear Rita: We operate a nonprofit social services agency. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have taken what we believe to be very aggressive steps to protect our nonprofit’s clients and employees. These efforts include taking the body temperatur …
Ask Rita: US Supreme Court Granted New Protection for LGBTQ+ Employees—What Do We Need to Know?
Dear Rita: Our nonprofit is in a state that does not recognize protections for gay, lesbian, or transgender workers. What do we need to do now that the Supreme Court has decided this is a new protected class of workers? Signed, Trying to Do the Right T …
