Q. Our company has an employee handbook. One of our employees has stated that this creates an employment contract and that he is no longer an at-will employee. Is this correct?

Q. If our employee has an accident while talking on a cell phone in a company car, is the company liable to the injured party?

Q. We do not believe that one of our employees is keeping accurate time records of her work. Can we pay her what we believe she worked instead of what her time records show?

Q. Are there any specific requirements regarding the types of resting and eating facilities California employers must provide for their workers?

Q. What kinds of penalties or liability does an employer face if it fails to provide notice of COBRA coverage upon termination of an employee?

Q. Our company’s attendance policy calls for issuing a warning when an employee has three absences. Five absences result in a suspension, and seven absences result in termination. Can we continue this policy?

Q. We conduct yearly performance evaluations, during which we review whether employees have met expectations. If an employee fails to meet those expectations, can we legally decrease the employee's salary?

Q. One of our employees is over age 70 and has recently had memory problems and a car wreck. What (if anything) can we do to protect ourselves from potential workers' comp claims should he injure himself?

Q. One of our employees who normally reports to another facility has been out on workers' comp and is now doing light duty in the office. Getting here adds an extra hour to his commute. I know we don't have to pay for his commuting time, but what about his travel expenses?

Q. We require that our employees to agree to resolve all disputes by binding arbitration, rather than going to court. I’ve heard some government agencies have ruled those kinds of arbitration policies illegal. I don't think that could be right, but thought I better check.

Q. We're cleaning up our personnel files and updating emergency contact information. Some employees don't want to provide their contact information. Is it legal for us to require them to give it to us?

Q. An employee has been subpoenaed to appear as a witness in a criminal case. Are we required to pay him for that time, or can we have him take vacation time or an unpaid leave of absence?

Q. Would a brief clock-out (initiated by the employee) of less than 20 minutes, such as an impromptu smoking break or personal phone call break, need to be paid as work time? The company accepts such impromptu clock-out breaks without prior supervisor approval.

Q. Our company offers a health insurance opt-out incentive, paying employees $400 a month if they use their spouses’ insurance plans. We now have an employee going out on FMLA maternity leave. Do we have to keep paying her $400 per month?

Q. Our company recently discovered some theft in our operation. We called an employee in for an investigative interview. He claimed to have consulted with an attorney and refused to answer our questions on the grounds that he could not be forced to incriminate himself under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. What are our choices?