Remote Workers, Gifting and Temporary Employees

On Oct 19, 2023

Can we limit which states our remote employees work in? Yes. In general, you can determine work locations for your remote employees and choose not to hire or employ anyone in specific states. Business and operational costs as well as state or local employment laws may factor into this decision. If you do decide to limit which states your employees can work in, we recommend including this information in your job postings. This should help streamline the recruiting process by reducing the number of applications received from states where you don’t intend to hire. You should also make current employees aware of any restrictions on where they can work. 

We would like to give candidates a “thank you” for interviewing with us. Can we provide a monetary gift to candidates for interviewing? Yes. You can give a candidate a thank you gift, monetary or otherwise, when they interview with you. We would recommend establishing a process for providing thank you gifts to ensure consistency and equity in determining who receives them. You could provide a gift when candidates reach a certain point in the process (e.g., the final round) or give them to those interviewing for a certain level of position within your organization (e.g., director or executive). 

We’d also recommend reaching out to your CPA or tax expert to understand any tax implications. 

Is there a limitation on the length of time that an employee can be classified as a temporary employee? No. There are no federal laws defining how long an employee can be considered “temporary.” The time frame can vary based on an organization’s budget considerations and business needs. For example, an organization may only need to hire employees for an increase in sales over the holiday season or to cover the position of an employee on leave. Even then, the employee on leave may need to shorten or extend their leave time, or the holiday “rush” may start or end earlier than the organization projected. 

Best practices for temporary employees include setting clear parameters for the time frame, payrate, work schedule, and work expectations. Any potential changes in these parameters should also be clearly communicated (e.g., let them know the holiday rush might be longer or shorter than usual). 

Finally, it’s important to keep in mind that temporary employees may still be eligible for some benefits – their eligibility is not dependent on whether you classify their position as temporary.  

HR Professionals from NJBIA assist clients with their HR questions and issues every day. Need help from our HR Pros? njbia.org/help 

To access more business news, visit NJB News Now.

Related Articles: