Your employee is considering being a living donor! Treat this situation like any other leave request. Request doctors' notes to clarify the expected duration of the absence, when your employee will be able to return to work, and if there are any restrictions they should adhere to. Be sure to receive a release from the doctor before they return to work, including any limitations they may have.

Depending on your state's laws, you may be required to offer paid or unpaid time off for living organ donations. If not, your employee may be eligible for other medical leave protections since this is a medical procedure.

Keep in mind that your employee may need to attend pre- and post-operative appointments, and try to be flexible with scheduling. Also decide in advance whether you'll allow your employee to work from home during their absence, if that's feasible.

Respect your employee's privacy and do not share any medical information with other employees unless given permission.

Affinity HR Group is BSCAI's endorsed HR partner, providing HR support, recruiting and employee engagement services.  For a link to our menu of services for BSCAI members, go to www.AffinityHRGroup.com/BSCAI

When deciding to approve or deny a time off request you should look at your policy, past precedent, and the circumstances of the particular situation. If the request for extended time off is actually for a health-related reason which may be protected under laws such as ADA or state disability, you may need to approve the time off. 

However, if the employee does not provide any protected reason, you do not have to offer more than your policy or what you have done in the past in a similar situation. If your policy is to approve two weeks, you can explain that you are not able to guarantee they will have a job to return to if they take more time.

You also should consider the impacts if you let the employee effectively resign. Will you be able to fill that position and get a new employee up to speed in that period of time? Or would it be easier to just manage for a couple of extra weeks?

Of course, whatever you do, you will be setting a precedent for future employees who may want to stretch their time off for personal reasons.

Affinity HR Group is BSCAI's endorsed HR partner, providing HR support, recruiting and employee engagement services.  For a link to our menu of services for BSCAI members, go to www.AffinityHRGroup.com/BSCAI

Finding love at work is a pretty common phenomenon.  Despite the prevalence of consensual relationships at work, there are things you should consider including having employees read and sign a Consensual Relationship Policy. This policy could include that:

• The relationship is truly consensual
• All parties to the relationship are aware of the company’s code of ethics, sexual harassment, and non-discrimination policies
• All parties will conform to the company’s code of conduct policy and will maintain a strict professional demeanor while at work or at work functions
• Employees in a supervisor/subordinate relationship will be reassigned so that no formal line of authority exists within the relationship
• The repercussions of not complying with the Consensual Relationship Policy includes discipline up to and including termination, and that the burden of adherence to the policy falls largely and squarely on the highest-ranking employee in the relationship 

Affinity HR Group is BSCAI's endorsed HR partner, providing HR support, recruiting and employee engagement services.  For a link to our menu of services for BSCAI members, go to www.AffinityHRGroup.com/BSCAI

An introductory period (also commonly referred to as a probationary or new-hire period) if often used as a way to terminate new hires if they are not meeting expectations soon after hire. However, in an employment-at-will relationship, companies can terminate an employee for any legal reason, at any time, with or without notice or cause. This applies before and after the introductory period.

Companies also use introductory periods to determine eligibility for benefits such as paid time off and health insurance.  In addition, they use this time for added training, more performance evaluations, or stricter attendance requirements. 

Usually, introductory periods are 90 days to reflect common unemployment look-back periods. With or without an introductory period, unemployment looks at the first 4 of the last 5 quarters so, once an employee has been on your payroll for more than 90 days, they may fall under your unemployment account.

Affinity HR Group is BSCAI's endorsed HR partner, providing HR support, recruiting and employee engagement services.  For a link to our menu of services for BSCAI members, go to www.AffinityHRGroup.com/BSCAI

Employee handbooks should be reviewed every year to ensure the language still matches your actual practices. However, reviews may need to be done more often if any federal or state employment laws change or are passed. Current guidelines from the NLRB about handbook language need to be considered as well.

You also need to update it when you hire employees working in a different state as each state's laws impact several policies throughout the handbook, not just the obvious ones such as paid time off.

Consider having an HR consultant or employment attorney complete a thorough review every year or two, revising as needed, to ensure the legal language is current and correct, minimizing your obligations and exposure.

Affinity HR Group is BSCAI's endorsed HR partner, providing HR support, recruiting and employee engagement services.  For a link to our menu of services for BSCAI members, go to www.AffinityHRGroup.com/BSCAI