At Will Employment Rules

• As of the time of publication, every state except Montana has at-will employment laws in place. These regulations allow an employer or employee to terminate a working relationship at any time without notice as long as the termination does not violate other laws relating to harassment or discrimination. An employer may also change the working hours of an at-will employee at time as the employer sees fit. This includes adjusting working hours due to employee illness to provide full coverage during the sick employee's normal shifts.
  
  

Hour Adjustment Consequences

• Adjusting the hours of an at-will employee on a permanent basis can have consequences for an employer. Permanently reducing an at-will employee's hours from full-time or part-time for any reason, including an illness, may allow the employee to file for unemployment benefits. The employee may be eligible because a permanent reduction in hours represents a large decrease in income. Since the employee must look for other work to make up the hours, she may be eligible to receive benefits. A successful claim can cause the employer's monthly unemployment insurance payment to increase.
  
  

Exempt Employee Regulations

• An exempt employee meets the requirements for weekly pay and job description as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act. An exempt worker does not accumulate weekly hours for overtime pay purposes and must receive his guaranteed salary each week, regardless of hours worked or quality of work performed. An employer may subtract a day's pay from a salary exempt worker if the employee does not have sufficient sick days to cover a temporary absence. Further reducing the employee's hours has no effect on the exempt worker's pay and only hurts the employer since there are fewer workers on the job and just as much payroll money going out.
  
  

Family and Medical Leave

• The Family and Medical Leave Act entitles many employees to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to treat a serious medical condition, attend to the birth of a child or care for a seriously ill family member. An employer may temporarily hire a worker to takeover for the employee taking leave, but must otherwise keep the employee's job available for her return. An employee returning from an absence under the FMLA must receive full reinstatement of hours, pay and work duties.