Frequently Asked Questions

 

This article provides information and general advice about labor and employment law. However, laws and procedures change from time to time and they can be interpreted differently by various courts, lawyers and other professionals in the field. For specific advice about your particular situation, you should consult a human resources professional or attorney of your choosing. No publication or materials posted on this website should be used as a substitute for advice and counsel from your attorney who is licensed to practice law in your state.

 

1. We have an anti-harassment policy in place. What else should our company do to eliminate harassment in our workplace?

 

2. Can individual supervisors be held liable and be required to pay damages for discriminating or harassing conduct?

 

3. Can my conduct be considered harassing if I simply meant it as a "joke"?

 

4. Does an employer have any legal protection if it provides a truthful, if not completely positive reference, about a former employee?

 

5. Our company's employees are paid a salary, does that make them exempt from earning overtime?

 

6. During my 30 minute lunch break, I have to eat in my work area so that I can handle any telephone overflow or emergency projects that come up. Should I be paid for this lunch period?
 

 

 

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1. We have an anti-harassment policy in place. What else should our company do to eliminate harassment in our workplace?
Recent Supreme Court and appellate court decisions make it clear that an employer must do more than draft an anti-harassment policy. Here is a checklist of steps to take to help maintain a workplace that is free from harassment:
 

• Make sure your policy prohibits harassment of all protected classes and not just sexual harassment.
• Make sure that your policy prohibits retaliation for making a complaint or participating in an investigation.
• Publish the policy to all employees and have them sign a receipt for their files.
• Train managers, supervisors and the rest of the employees on the company's policy prohibiting harassment.
• Make sure that the policy provides employees with alternative avenues for making a complaint within the company.
• Monitor the implementation of the policy to make sure that management and the rest of the employees understand and comply with the policy.
  
  

 

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2. Can individual supervisors be held liable and be required to pay damages for discriminating or harassing conduct?
Yes! Under Ohio law, supervisors may be held liable for discrimination or harassment just as any other "employer" as that term is defined in the Ohio Civil Rights Act.

 

 

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3. Can my conduct be considered harassing if I simply meant it as a "joke"?
Yes, it may.Whether your conduct is harassing will depend at least in part on how it was perceived by the individual objecting. The key inquiry is not what you intended but rather whether the recipient considered your conduct to be unwelcome behavior.

 

 

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4.Does an employer have any legal protection if it provides a truthful, if not completely positive reference, about a former employee?
Yes, but it is limited protection. While the safest route for employers may be to provide limited information about the former employee's position, length of employment, general duties and possibly compensation, the Ohio Revised Code affords employers "qualified immunity". This limited protection allows a former employer to give a prospective employer "facts, opinions or suspicions about a former employee and not be subject to an action for slander." Employers lose the "qualified immunity" if they provide information knowing that it is false, with the intent to deceive the prospective employer, in bad faith or for a malicious reason.

 

 

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5. Our company's employees are paid a salary, does that make them exempt from earning overtime?
No, not necessarily. Just paying employees a salary does not make them exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Generally, for an employee to be exempt under one of the "White Collar" exemptions he or she must be paid a salary (or in some instances a fee) but the inquiry does not end there. He or she also must perform certain primary duties (regardless of the title of the position). For example, an "executive" must manage an enterprise; an "administrative" employee's primary duty must consist of work directly related to management policy and require the employee to exercise discretion and judgment. The primary duty of a "professional" employee must consist of work requiring advanced knowledge in a field, original and creative work, teaching or high level computer skills.

 

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6. During my 30 minute lunch break, I have to eat in my work area so that I can handle any telephone overflow or emergency projects that come up. Should I be paid for this lunch period?
When deciding whether an employee is entitled to compensation for his or her meal period, the courts look at four factors:
 

• The nature of the restrictions placed on the employee.
• The extent to which the restrictions benefit the employer.
• The duties performed by the employee during the meal period.
• Frequency of the interruptions.


The determination depends on whether the employee's time is spent predominantly for the benefit of the employer or whether the employee can use this time effectively for his or her own purposes.

 

 

 

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