Ask the Experts: Burning HR Questions that Affect Your Business

Human resources can be confusing waters to navigate. Affinity HR – one of BSCAI’s partners – is dedicated to helping businesses like yours thrive even when there are lingering questions regarding employment and employment laws.

Question: We have an employee who would like to bring a service dog to work with her. Do we have to allow this?

Answer:  Well, the question of whether you "have to" depends. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which applies to companies with 15 or more employees, an employer should attempt to provide a "reasonable accommodation" to a person with a qualified disability. The act defines what types of conditions would qualify as a disability. 

If the individual is eyesight impaired and allowing her to bring a dog to work does not create an "undue hardship" to your company, then yes, providing that accommodation would be reasonable. It's a slippery slope from there. What types of animals are service animals? What level of mental health ailment would qualify someone as having a disability? Our best advice is to get some validation from a medical provider for the need for the accommodation and the benefit it would provide and allow the accommodation as you deem appropriate. 

Question: Do you have any creative benefit ideas for trying to recruit new talent?

Answer: Absolutely! Here are some things you can offer: additional vacation days, reimburse student loan or credit card debt, allow your employee to work from home once a week or work from the office one weekend day a week, offer a sabbatical after five years of service, reimburse transportation or child-care expenses, pay for continuing education, and, of course, teach your prospective employees about any retirement benefits, such as 401(k) benefits. If you do get creative with your benefits, present them with your offer so that they can weigh the benefits along with your salary offering. Good luck!

Question:  Is doing relief/volunteer work in the workplace a good idea?

Answer:  It can be an important part of your corporate culture and lead to strong employee engagement. That said, these activities should always be considered voluntary and you should be sure to emphasize the fact that there are many ways for people to give and that there is no litmus test for giving back to communities in need. 

Question: Is it possible for us to hire an HR generalist on a temporary basis?  We've had mis-hires before and want to try her before we hire her.  

Answer:  Absolutely, it is fine to hire someone temporarily on a contract basis. By doing so, you could treat her as an independent contractor or a short-term employee. Be sure to provide an engagement letter discussing the scope of the engagement, the length of the project, the work expected, the pay rate, and, importantly, include your "at-will" language specifying that the engagement does not constitute an employment contract and can be severed "at-will" by either party without notice or cause.