Part time versus Full time employment

[jennlynne07]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Oklahoma

Can you legally/knowingly hire a part time employee to fill a full time employee's position before the termination of the full time employee?


Can you accomodate to a part time employees needs and put them ahead of a full time employee?

What are the rules and legal concerns for the return of an employee who has been on FMLA? Do they have to be employed for a certain amount of time before they can be terminated? Are they guaranteed the shift that they were working before they went on leave?

Can you make an employee that is hired on as full time work a part time employees hours/shift because the part time employee wants to work the hours/shift of the full time employee?


Thanks for your answers!!

 

[cbg]

Can you legally/knowingly hire a part time employee to fill a full time employee's position before the termination of the full time employee? Yes. Part time and full time have no legal significance. Nothing whatsoever in the law says you cannot hire a replacement before the incumbent is termed, and it doesn't matter whether they are full or part time.

Can you accomodate to a part time employees needs and put them ahead of a full time employee? Yes. The law does not give greater rights to full time employees than part time employees, or vice versa.

What are the rules and legal concerns for the return of an employee who has been on FMLA? Do they have to be employed for a certain amount of time before they can be terminated? They can never be terminated BECAUSE they were on FMLA. They can be terminated for unrelated reasons at whatever time is appropriate. If they would have been terminated regardless of whether they took leave or not, they can be terminated before they even return. The FMLA statute says only that they cannot be terminated because of the FMLA, not that they are bulletproof and cannot be fired at all.

Are they guaranteed the shift that they were working before they went on leave? They are guaranteed either their own job or one that is equal in all respects, including shift, UNLESS they would have been moved to a different shift regardless of whether they took leave or not.

Can you make an employee that is hired on as full time work a part time employees hours/shift because the part time employee wants to work the hours/shift of the full time employee? As you have worded the question, yes, you can.

You seem to have gotten the idea somewhere that full time employees have more rights than part time employees. That is not the case.

 

[eerelations]

Employment law has nothing to say regarding definitions of part time and full time employment.

The answers to your questions are:

Yes.

Please elaborate on "accommodate" and "needs" - when you do, we can give you a better response.

Employees can be fired before, during and after their FMLA leaves, for any reason other than because they took/were about to take an FMLA leave. There is no legislated timeframe in which an employer may not fire someone who took an FMLA leave, again as long as the reason for the firing wasn't the taking of an FMLA leave. Employers are required to give employees returning from FMLA leave a comparable job. I don't think that necessarily means the exact same shift.

Generally, yes.