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[Richard Thorsey] said employees usually can resolve their fear of admitting to shortcomings by adding a line saying that their signature was "for purposes of receipt only," or something like "but I do not agree with this evaluation." He said many companies already note the idea of "receipt only" on their evaluations. "Not all companies allow a response, but an employer should not be upset to hear back from an employee," Thorsey said. "It would be an aid to the employer. Obviously the goal is to get performance up, to get improved productivity."
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Q The not-for-profit I work for is converting to a paid-time-off system. Employees will receive a certain number of days each year to use as they choose for vacation, sick leave or personal days. I have no complaints with the proposed system as long as it is applied evenly. Unfortunately, in converting to the new system, management is eliminating "banked" sick leave. I have more than 50 days of unused sick leave that will be converted to five PTOs -- 10 percent of what I've banked. Can my employer retroactively change a benefit that I've already earned and accrued? Needless to say, the new system has created quite a morale problem with long-term employees.

[Richard Thorsey] said he's not certain that would be the case with sick leave, unlike, say, for accrued vacation time. "It's sick leave, not an accrued dollar amount. He could use it only if he's sick. They're not taking dollars out of his pocket," Thorsey said. However, he said the worker could certainly make a claim for use of the accrued leave if he is ill and needs the paid leave.
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A. Richard Thorsey, a Fairfax lawyer who represents companies and workers in employment disputes, said federal law prohibits discrimination based on religion. He said the Supreme Court has interpreted that as requiring employers to make a "reasonable accommodation for employees' religious beliefs, provided they don't cost too much for the employer."

In the District, Thorsey said, employers are required to provide a "reasonable accommodation for an employee's religious observance by permitting the employee to make up work time lost, unless such an accommodation would cause the employer undue hardship when it would cause any employer to incur more than minimal costs." "Employers must pay their employees for time worked," Thorsey said. "Generally this means the employee is entitled to to be paid for work the employer knew or should have known was being done. So if the employer suffers or permits the employee to work and not be paid for those hours, the employer is liable to the employee and probably for damages, too."
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"If [the worker] feels like it he can send a letter to the manager confirming the conversation [resolving the dispute] with a copy to his personnel file, he could do that," [A. Richard Thorsey] said. "That's not a legal question, that's an office-politics question."

Nonetheless, Thorsey and Washington lawyer Philip M. Schwartz, who represents management in employment disputes, suggested that if the worker belongs to a union covered by a contract or has a personal employment contract, there might be grievance procedures to follow. And, if not, an employee handbook might spell out the dispute- resolution process at the company.
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Workers Can't Be Judged by What Employers Think They Can't Do
Parsons]'s brief contact with Trader Joe's started three years ago as the winter holidays approached. Then, as now, Parsons was working as an executive assistant for a Northern Virginia home builder, but she felt she needed more money.

The EEOC and Parsons's lawyer, A. Richard Thorsey of Fairfax, sued Trader Joe's this year. They alleged that the South Pasadena, Calif.- based grocer violated her rights under the ADA, which prohibits employers from discriminating against the disabled in various aspects of the workplace and requires them to make "reasonable accommodations" to permit the disabled to work.

Negotiations ensued, and the parties agreed recently to a settlement that, aside from the payments to Parsons and the foundation, requires Trader Joe's to give 10 managers at its five Northern Virginia outlets classroom training on ADA provisions and provide written material on the law to other workers. Parsons did not seek to get her Trader Joe's job back.
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A Promise From an Employer Is a Promise, but It Might Not Be Kept
"And what is a favorable review?" [A. Richard Thorsey] said that usually, a favorable review would be an assessment that a worker meets or exceeds normal performance requirements.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act governs this situation. The short answer, Thorsey said, is that the worker is not entitled to overtime because he is an exempt employee, which generally means that the worker is in a managerial position.

Aside from the pay issue, however, Thorsey said the worker might check with the Labor Department or a local employment lawyer to see if he is properly classified as exempt.
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