Paid training while unemployed: Does sick leave still apply?

I was wondering, would I be required to notify the State Department of Labor if one of my employees is out on sick leave for just a few days? Also, I suppose it might be necessary to ask whether they are obligated to provide me with a formal doctor's note to cover those absences?

My husband used to bring his doctor's notes straight to the office while he was out on sick leave—just part of the routine back then

The employee brought in her medical certificates, so we went ahead and emailed them over to the state unemployment office just to be safe.

We currently pay her social security contributions based on the minimum wage, and I was wondering if I should reduce those payments to account for those few days she was out on sick leave? I suppose that for any sick leave lasting up to thirty days, I should probably just continue calculating the contributions as if she had been working normally, right?

I’ll try to keep this brief..
It’s almost been six months since I started my professional internship. During the peak summer season, I didn't pay much attention to the administrative side of things, but now it’s starting to get under my skin. There are several aspects of this arrangement that leave me questioning whether everything is being handled legally.
I am currently interning within a tourism firm.
The situation involves two separate agreements: one through the state unemployment office and another directly with the company. Regarding the state contract, things got messy when they handed me a pile of paperwork and told me, "This is just for the Department of Labor, just sign here and there," all without ever providing me with a signed copy for my own records. Before that, I was given an internship agreement solely between myself and the company. Does an agreement made strictly between an intern and a business hold any legal weight if the state agency isn't mentioned at all? Furthermore, the contract includes a non-disclosure clause stating I cannot share business information or documents, classifying them as trade secrets. This leaves me wondering: do I actually have grounds to file a complaint with the Department of Labor regarding tasks I'm being asked to perform that fall outside my actual job description, or should I just keep my head down and stay quiet? To make matters worse, nobody has even provided me with a formal list of the specific duties I am supposed to be learning.

Ultimately, my main concern lies with the validity and implications of these two contracts.

rowdypuma15 said:I’ll try to keep this brief..
It’s almost been six months since I started my professional internship. During the peak summer season, I didn't pay much attention to the administrative side of things, but now it’s starting to get under my skin. There are several aspects of this arrangement that leave me questioning whether everything is being handled legally.
I am currently interning within a tourism firm.
The situation involves two separate agreements: one through the state unemployment office and another directly with the company. Regarding the state contract, things got messy when they handed me a pile of paperwork and told me, "This is just for the Department of Labor, just sign here and there," all without ever providing me with a signed copy for my own records. Before that, I was given an internship agreement solely between myself and the company. Does an agreement made strictly between an intern and a business hold any legal weight if the state agency isn't mentioned at all? Furthermore, the contract includes a non-disclosure clause stating I cannot share business information or documents, classifying them as trade secrets. This leaves me wondering: do I actually have grounds to file a complaint with the Department of Labor regarding tasks I'm being asked to perform that fall outside my actual job description, or should I just keep my head down and stay quiet? To make matters worse, nobody has even provided me with a formal list of the specific duties I am supposed to be learning.

Ultimately, my main concern lies with the validity and implications of these two contracts.

That’s the one question I actually have an answer for.
Look, a contract is a contract. It carries legal weight unless some judge decides otherwise.

If you think things aren't above board, your only move is to take it to court and ask them to weigh in on whether the whole thing is actually valid and legal.

At the end of the day, if one side thinks the deal means X and the other side thinks it means Y, you're just stuck waiting for a judge to make the final call.

rowdypuma15 said:I’ll try to keep this brief..
It’s almost been six months since I started my professional internship. During the peak summer season, I didn't pay much attention to the administrative side of things, but now it’s starting to get under my skin. There are several aspects of this arrangement that leave me questioning whether everything is being handled legally.
I am currently interning within a tourism firm.
The situation involves two separate agreements: one through the state unemployment office and another directly with the company. Regarding the state contract, things got messy when they handed me a pile of paperwork and told me, "This is just for the Department of Labor, just sign here and there," all without ever providing me with a signed copy for my own records. Before that, I was given an internship agreement solely between myself and the company. Does an agreement made strictly between an intern and a business hold any legal weight if the state agency isn't mentioned at all? Furthermore, the contract includes a non-disclosure clause stating I cannot share business information or documents, classifying them as trade secrets. This leaves me wondering: do I actually have grounds to file a complaint with the Department of Labor regarding tasks I'm being asked to perform that fall outside my actual job description, or should I just keep my head down and stay quiet? To make matters worse, nobody has even provided me with a formal list of the specific duties I am supposed to be learning.

Ultimately, my main concern lies with the validity and implications of these two contracts.

Once you sign a contract with an employer, they are legally required to specify the exact job role for which the professional training is being conducted. I remember reading somewhere that an employer doesn't have the right to demand you perform tasks that fall outside the scope of your training—which makes sense, really, because the IRS provided the funding specifically for the training outlined in the contract. If they use those funds for other things, they should technically have to pay the money back to the IRS.

Take a look at this; I think these guidelines might still be in effect.

Larry Edwards3 said:The employee brought in her medical certificates, so we went ahead and emailed them over to the state unemployment office just to be safe.

We currently pay her social security contributions based on the minimum wage, and I was wondering if I should reduce those payments to account for those few days she was out on sick leave? I suppose that for any sick leave lasting up to thirty days, I should probably just continue calculating the contributions as if she had been working normally, right?

You calculate and pay the contributions based on the full gross amount, no reductions whatsoever.

ruggedlynx63 said:You calculate and pay the contributions based on the full gross amount, no reductions whatsoever.

Hi,

So, does that mean the trainee's pay isn't reduced at all for the days they're out on sick leave? Or am I missing something?

Thanks in advance!

Yeah, they end up docking their pay. That’s why when my employee had her certification exam, I didn't bother asking for any extra pay; instead, we just worked out a deal where she could take it as part of her PTO. I think they hit you with some kind of deduction $53 based on your sick leave days. I'm not entirely certain about the exact math, but it seems to be something like that.

So I’m trying to figure out if the time I spent out on sick leave actually counts toward my professional training period, basically asking if I'll have to make up those days once my one-year contract wraps up, or if that time just rolls right into my total tenure so I can jump straight into taking the state certification exam as soon as the contract ends.

graniterider10 said:Yeah, they end up docking their pay. That’s why when my employee had her certification exam, I didn't bother asking for any extra pay; instead, we just worked out a deal where she could take it as part of her PTO. I think they hit you with some kind of deduction $53 based on your sick leave days. I'm not entirely certain about the exact math, but it seems to be something like that.

Man, you guys are just absolute saints when it comes to scoring free labor.

:klap:

gentlesailor17 said:Man, you guys are just absolute saints when it comes to scoring free labor.

:klap:

I am not downplaying anything, nor am I sending anyone a check.☕
Why complicate things?😁

You should probably just ask all this over here:

or maybe even right here

casualorca5 said:I am not downplaying anything, nor am I sending anyone a check.☕
Why complicate things?😁

Sure, you aren't downplaying anything. But you *are* downplaying what the State Employment Agency deals with, since they're the ones actually cutting the checks. It’s your responsibility to include any sick leave hours in the monthly timesheet you submit to them, along with the actual doctor's note/pay stub for that leave.