Topic: Human Resources
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Our vacation policy requires employees to take off work for five consecutive days. For employees who work forty hours over a six-day work week, would taking off five days fulfill this requirement, or should they take off forty consecutive hours?
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If your bank’s internal time-off requirements are based on calendar days rather than hours worked, we do not believe you need to impose hourly time-off requirements for employees who work less than forty hours in a five-day span. However, your bank may want to consider requiring employees to be absent from their duties for two…
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Do hourly employees need to sign paper or electronic timecards?
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No, we do not believe that hourly employees are required to sign paper or electronic timecards, although an employer may choose to require employee signatures to verify the accuracy of timecards or for other business reasons. The Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act requires employers to keep records of the wages paid to their employees…
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How should we handle employees who file for bankruptcy? Should we require the employee to notify us, and should we take any precautions after we learn of an employee’s bankruptcy?
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We are not aware of any law or regulation requiring a bank to take action if it becomes aware that an employee has filed for bankruptcy or to monitor employees’ bankruptcy filings. Moreover, federal law strictly prohibits you from terminating or discriminating against an employee who is filing or has filed for bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy…
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Are banking personnel required take off work for five consecutive days? We would like to remove this requirement from our HR handbook. Also, since our employees can access our system remotely, many sign in even when on vacation to check their email or look something up. How would this impact a requirement to take off work?
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We are not aware of any law or regulation requiring bank employees or officers to take vacation, but the federal banking agencies continue to recommend that bank employees take at least two consecutive weeks of vacation each year — along with several alternative recommendations, from rotating duties to having your board of directors review and…
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We are required to file an EEO-1 due to being a federal contractor, but we have fewer than 100 employees. Are we subject to the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003?
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Yes, your bank is subject to the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003, which applies to any employer with employees in Illinois. However, we believe that you are exempt from the equal pay registration certificate requirements in Section 11 of the Equal Pay Act, since you have fewer than one hundred employees — even though…
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Our understanding is that because stock value can fluctuate, a percentage is used to secure collateral. What are the percentage amounts allowed for loans secured by stocks held in a 401K? Regulation U would not apply to these loans.
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IRS rules generally prohibit lenders from using stock held in a 401(k) plan as loan collateral, since such plans are prohibited from allowing benefits provided under the plan from being assigned or alienated. However, such stocks may serve as loan collateral for a 401(k) participant loan, if made for certain purposes, through the participant’s employer.…
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Are banks required to perform new background screenings for rehires?
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Yes, we believe that banks are required to perform some level of background screenings for rehires, as you would for new hires. Both Illinois and federal law prohibit banks from employing individuals who have been convicted of certain crimes, and FDIC regulations require all banks to make a “reasonable inquiry” to ensure they do not…
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Does the minimum wage increase outlined in Executive Order 14026, effective January 30, 2022, apply to banks that are FDIC-insured? We have no offices on federal lands.
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We do not believe that the minimum wage increase in Executive Order 14026 applies to banks unless an institution enters into a procurement contract with the federal government (for example, to provide financial services in a federal building). Executive Order 14026 establishes a $15 minimum wage as of January 30, 2022, for certain federal contractors…
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All our officers have signed a restrictive covenant agreement imposing non-compete restrictions on termination of employment in exchange for a portion of the bank’s discretionary cash bonus pool. We are aware that there have been new laws passed regarding these types of agreements. Is our agreement grandfathered in or do we need new agreements and signatures?
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We believe that the recent amendments to the Illinois Freedom to Work Act apply only to covenants not to compete entered into after January 1, 2022. Public Act 102-358, effective January 1, 2022, amends the Illinois Freedom to Work Act to significantly expand the Act’s limitations on post-employment restrictions for certain employees and set new…
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Does the Illinois Banking Act or any guidance require that bank officers or employees take vacation?
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No, we are not aware of any laws or regulations that require bank employees or officers to take vacation. The FDIC (your primary regulator) does expect that banks require its officers and employees “to be absent from their duties for an uninterrupted period of not less than two consecutive weeks . . . in the…