Employers who have a legitimate need to to cut an employee’s hours or replace them with another person, are free to do so but. . .
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Question
My wife is thinking about possibly working in the office, if she would work 1-2 days as a front desk person, the existing person would have to cut their hours, is there any best way to approach this?
Answer
There are a couple of approaches and I would be happy to discuss the options and pitfalls with you in person by phone. But the simple answer is; it is OK to cut hours and you are the boss- but here is an example when it is not OK. An employee comes to you and complains (e.g., about wages/how you pay vacation time/sexual harassment/asks for a legitimate disability accommodation/complains about racial discrimination against themselves or another) – and you then cut their hours or reposition them. This kind of action can be easy grounds for a retaliation claim, merely because it happens close in time to the complaint.
As an approach I would recommend that you tell the person who is going to be effected by the change, in advance of cutting their hours. Give them a chance to adjust and during that conversation you will probably be able to assess if they are going to go with the flow or look for full time work. You should understand that they may need to work full time and that they may not be happy about the change and may quit to work elsewhere with little or no notice. So I must ask, is the new person(your wife in this instance) that is taking over part of the hours prepared to work full time?
This may require a reset on your part if the employee finds work elsewhere. During the reset you can hire another person and make it clear that it is a part time position.
One additional note: In most instances and in most states – when you cut the hours and even if the employee stays on part time, you should expect them to apply for unemployment benefits for the partial loss.
Visit our website, Center for Employment Dispute Resolution (CEDR) for more information. Questions about this subject can be sent to info@lawsuitfreeworkplace.net or call Paul Edwards directly at 602 476 1418
This information is Human Resource Guidance and is not intended to be legal advice
