Employee Rights

Recently, a page at the library made some comments that were less than flattering about how the local town was handling a new subdivision. The town supervisor came to me (we are an association library and not part of the town government) and asked if our personnel handbook had any language about social media use.

Some questions are tricky, some questions are complex, and some questions are simply a Huge Spider Web of Extremely Intricate and Dangerous Contingencies.

Not to be too dramatic, but this question is that last one.

What creates this tangled web?[1] Let’s explore the threads:

Two members of an immediate family are employed by the library. They were hired long ago at different times by a previous administration. After many years and changes in leadership one family member is now in a supervisory position over the other. There is no other supervisor for him to report to. Is there any reason why the employee cannot continue to be employed?

There are many scenarios where one family member supervising another goes just fine: everyone gets along, the supervisor’s feedback and constructive criticism is cheerfully received, and everyone—from trustees to fellow employees—finds things fair, above-board, and ship-shape.

Are there any laws around a supervisor or manager telling others the reason for an employee being out on leave? Does the answer change if the employee isn't using sick time, but [has] disclosed why they were unavailable for additional hours during non-contract time?

Here are the state and federal laws specifically barring an employer from disclosing why an employee is out on sick or personal leave.[1]

How long should the library retain employee records, payroll records, sales and purchase records, mortgage and loan documents, and other records?

Several considerations impact the answer to this question:

For a public library, the bare minimum record retention periods are found in a document called "the LGS-1."[1]  The LGS-1 has rules for retention covering everything from your library's charter, to how long you hold onto circulation records.

This is an issue that's come up in recent conversation. If an individual who no longer works at an institution finds that their picture is still being used by said institution, whether in promotional photos or on staff/faculty pages, does that individual have any legal recourse?

This question needs to be answered on a sliding scale.

Here are three scenarios to show how the scale can slide:

Scenario 1: "Scrapbooking"

I understand that, as employers of a union shop, the library is required to allow the union a reasonable amount of time to conduct union business.[1] However, how much time is reasonable? Can employees meet with their shop stewards on the clock at the library for 5+ hours a week, taking both away from their duties? Is there a ballpark?

The care required when addressing union-related issues in so critical, we're going to start with a small cautionary poem:

My concern is about employee privacy and image use.

This is one of those questions that a thoughtful attorney, wishing to be thorough, could write a book about. However, "Ask the Lawyer" is not a book, so we'll see what I can do in about one thousand words!

To give some useful answers, and also stick within our word limit:

[My library's] community is calling for a member of the staff to have a seat on the board as a voting member. However, I am searching for something in the trustee handbook or DLD regulations that explicitly states this. I am not aware of any library that has ever had a staff member sit on the board as a voting trustee.

There are many reasons a not-for-profit organization, such as a library, may contemplate employee membership--or structured involvement--on the governing board.

Common reasons are:

A director of a library resources council asks…

This is the right question at the right time.  As we wrap up 2022, remote work, work travel, work-from-home, work abroad...all these are evolving in a tangle of legal considerations.

We are planning an emergency preparedness training for library staff to include CPR, First Aid, Stop the Bleed, and Narcan training. We have heard from librarians that some boards are concerned about the implications of having staff trained. We would like to have some commonly asked questions addressed so that we can answer them if they come up.

Because the training and resources described in the question can save lives, I will both a) quickly answer the questions and b) provide an answer in a format suitable to share with a library board.