Anchor Payroll Blog

Almost 15 years ago, the Great Recession was underway. People lived in a constant state of worry. In workplaces across the country, employees informally gathered after official meetings, trying to decipher what their leaders had shared and what information they’d held back. If the larger implications of the recession were abstract and theoretical, the possibility of layoffs felt very real. 

Election Day is almost here, so as an employer, now is a good time to brush up on voting leave laws.

Most states require that employers provide at least a few hours off to vote, and many of those require at least some of that time off to be paid. The advance notice that may be required from employees is often minimal, so employers should be prepared to grant last-minute requests to leave work to vote.

Question: We have discovered an employee has been sleeping during lunch breaks. Can we ask employees not to sleep in the office during their lunch break (or any other unpaid break)?

Many businesses recognize that their most important asset for success is their employee base. Unfortunately, one crucial step in managing and strengthening that asset is often overlooked. In the face of constant competitive pressures, companies often do not utilize completely the employee performance review process.

Many people look forward to annual performance reviews the way they look forward to oil changes and tune-ups. Sure, these are standard operating procedures, but they can be a hassle and they could reveal bad news. As a result, performance reviews are often done poorly. They’re treated as an afterthought and rushed when the time comes. Or they’re not done at all.

The prospect of a recession has many businesses and their employees worried. During an extended economic decline, sales drop, jobs disappear, and productivity decreases. Companies have less revenue to invest, and their customers have less money to spend. With their lives shaken by financial instability, people are more motivated to play it safe and less inclined to take risks.

Answer:  In general, yes. When an employee is on a performance improvement plan (PIP), and their performance has not improved and has, in fact, gotten worse, it is perfectly reasonable to cut the timeframe of the PIP short and move forward with further disciplinary action, including termination. Unless it’s written to say otherwise—and it absolutely shouldn’t be—a PIP is not a guarantee of employment for the duration of the plan. It shouldn’t alter the at-will employment relationship.

In the 2009 movie Up in the Air, George Clooney and Anna Kendrick play corporate downsizers—HR consultants that companies across the country hire to terminate employees for them. The practice wasn’t exactly common at the time, and fortunately never took off, but it was believable.

Generally not. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) grants all non-supervisory employees (not just those in unions) the right to organize and engage in “concerted activity” for the purpose of mutual aid or protection. Concerted means “in concert,” meaning more than one employee is involved. Activities for mutual aid and protection could include discussions about wages, benefits, treatment from managers, safety issues, and just about anything else that two or more employees might have a stake in. As a result, the protections provided by the NLRA are broad. Here are a few examples of protected activity: