QUESTION: Two colleagues have left for maternity leave, and the company has hired two women to replace them. Is the company allowed to fill their jobs? When the women return, they won't have the same positions. Also, can the company force someone to work full-time?
ANSWER: Regarding your first question, "An employer is permitted to fill the jobs on a temporary basis during the individuals' absences, in all circumstances," said employment attorney Hope Goldstein, a partner with Bryan Cave in New York.
Your last question also has an easy answer.
"Employers have the general right to operate their business, which could include requiring employees to work full-time, instead of part-time schedules," she said, as long as companies don't discriminate on the basis of such things as race, gender and age in assigning workers longer hours.
The issue of job positions is more complex. Whether a company has to offer the women their same jobs depends on the federal, state or local job protections they have based on the size of the company.
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For example, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act covers eligible employees at a company with at least 50 employees. That unpaid leave protects workers' benefits and jobs while they are out for such things as caring for a newborn.
"Factors such as the size of the employer and length of leave impact whether or not the employee is in fact covered and protected by the various laws," Goldstein said.
