Articles

Bored and Taking Money from Your Last Check
by Dr. Lynne Curry

Question:
After three years of being in my job, I'm bored out of my mind. I used to love this job and I still like my co-workers, my boss and my customers. Unfortunately, no matter what problems our customers or vendors throw at me, I can handle the situation without feeling even slightly challenged.

My boss has tried his best to give me more responsibility but frankly, I'd be bored even if I had his job. I'd quit, except I don't want to make the mistake of a lifetime. I make good money. Also, because I can leave work at work when I go home, my wife and friends say I've got the dream job. Any advice?

Answer:
If you stay at this job, you may make the mistake of a lifetime. If you and your boss have tried your collective best to increase your job's challenge but you still find yourself bored, you sell a piece of yourself every pay period.

You can, however, turn this problem into an opportunity. You possess what many "ready to leave their job" employees lack, the chance to take the time to find the right next job. So, start looking for a new job and take the time you need to feel comfortable that you've found the right opportunity.

Question:
We're about to fire an employee who purchased a series of meals from our restaurant and hasn't yet paid us for them and who also took a series of advances against future paychecks to pay his rent. When we write him his final paycheck, can we just deduct the remainder of his last advance and these meals from the net that we owe him?

Answer:
You can if you initially asked your employee to sign a statement authorizing these deductions and if the net amount of his paycheck, after your deductions, exceeds the minimum wage for the hours he worked. If not, you risk a problem under the Fair Labor Standards Act and with the Department of Labor.

Question:
I just bought a business and learned that several employees get paid higher wages because they work on weekends or in the evenings. Is there a law that requires employers to pay more to employees who work in the evenings or on weekends? If not, I want to level the playing field and pay everyone the same salary. It's caused a lot of irritation among the day shift employees that the night shift workers, who have an easier workload, make more money.

Answer:
No federal or state law requires you to pay employees extra for working weekends or evenings. Some employers, however, provide premium pay to those who work nonstandard hours. Before you change anyone's pay, you might look further into this situation. Many employers find it challenging to find individuals willing to work night and weekend hours.

Question:
We recently terminated a young woman who was a really smooth talker and stole some company materials from us. She really burned us and I'd hate to think she could do that to another employer. Exactly what can I say on a reference check about an employee who stole company materials and left without giving notice?

Answer:
Statutes in many states now protect employers who accurately disclose accurate reference information to prospective employers about former employees. As an example, Alaska statute 09.65.160 states that employers can be presumed to be acting in good faith and therefore immunized when they give reference information unless a preponderance of information shows that the employer recklessly or with malicious purpose gave false or deliberatively misleading information.

Thus, you could honestly and safely say this employee left without notice. If you want to speak about the theft, however, make sure you're absolutely sure of your facts. As a further protection, you can ask any prospective employer who calls you to have this applicant sign a waiver releasing past employers from speaking frankly about her as an employee.