Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Re: Overtime, vacation pay & tattoos.

1. Overtime. Probably not but i would want to know more details. What you can do is tell employees that unauthorized overtime is not allowed and you can fire them for violating that policy. that will solve your problem for future overtime.

2. Vaction carry over. You do not have to carry it over but if it doesnt carry over you must pay out the vacation time in cash. you can also put a limit of how much vacation time is accumulated. for example, you can say that once an employee has accumulated 30 days vacation (you pick the number) then if he doesnt take it there will be no more vacation time accumulated until he drops below the 30 days by taking time off.

3. Tattoos and such. Not sure exactly without researching it specifically. you can if directly related to health or safety. you can also have reasonable dress code.

Re: Overtime, vacation pay & tattoos.

This response assumes you are a California employer and have asked questions about your California employees.

Generally, overtime premium payments need only be made to an employee if and when authorized. The question then becomes "was the overtime authorized?" Employers can be held responsible for making overtime premium payments when they least expect it (e.g., a veterinary assistant has expressed concern over the surgical recovery of "Fido" and tells the veterinarian so. The assistant then informs the veterinarian that someone should watch over the dog for awhile, and does so after hours. In this instance it could be argued that the employee received consent to work overtime, since the veterinarian did not object). As a general rule, to avoid arguments over responsibility for overtime premium payments an employer can and should adopt a formal "overtime premium payment" policy; the policy would explain when and if overtime premium payments will be made. Thus, you should consult with an employment lawyer to make certain the company policy will accomplish what is intended.

The same technique (i.e., employee manual) can be used to clarify when the accrual of vacation begins and ends. The general rule concerning vacation is that it is construed to be an employee benefit that is automatically "vested" when accrued. Thus, a "tight" vacation policy statement (i.e., when vacation begins to accrue, when vacation accrual ceases) in an employee manual is the safest way to avoid conflicts with employees over vacation entitlement. Again, you should seek the assistance of an employment lawyer when drafting a vacation policy statement.

Dress codes and other restrictions on employee conduct may be addressed in an employee manual as well. This area of the law is evolving and generally requires the assistance of an employment lawyer to make certain the restrictions on conduct give sufficient legal weight in balancing the employee's right to privacy against the "importance" to the employer of restraining or restricting an employee's conduct in the workplace, which includes without limitation restrictions on dress code, visible tatoos and visible body piercing.

Your questions are good ones. There are many more legal issues involving the workplace other than those addressed in your question. By consulting with a local employment lawyer you can address most if not all of your concerns and develop rules that are legally enforceable . Good Luck.