Seasonal Employees Count

During the busy shopping season that is now upon us, many retailers bring on lots of interim and seasonal staff. Some are college students who are on break, others are looking for a few extra bucks. Regardless of the reason people take these seasonal jobs, employers must remember they are still employees and they are afforded the same rights and protections under the law. Though they may be gone right after the new year begins, while they are employed, they fill a big gap for retailers and should be given the same consideration as other employees.

Interim employees are required to pay taxes, so they must fill out all of the required tax forms and payroll records, including an I-9 form. (Be sure to start using the new I-9 form that was recently released.) It is unlikely they will be eligible for other benefits, like paid vacation or dental plans, but they might be, depending on how they are classified and how they are defined by the specific plan documents.

In addition to completing payroll records, be sure to give your seasonal staff a copy of the employee handbook when they start. The handbook will outline expectations of behavior and performance, as well as provide them much needed information about important company policies that they are required to follow. Beyond that, the handbook will usually discuss procedures around filing complaints, reporting concerns in the workplace, and describing their rights as an employee. Regular full-time employees usually go through some type of orientation program where these things are covered. Often times, seasonal staff are just put to work their first day, foregoing an opportunity to learn more about the company and it's policies.

Just because they may only work a handful of weeks, they can still file EEOC complaints for sexual harassment, workers' compensation claims for getting injured, or even FLSA complaints for not being paid properly. An orientation program for interim and seasonal workers might help to develop an immediate rapport as well as direct them internally if they have questions or complaints before they run to an outside agency. Finally, it may be worthwhile to remind managers and coworkers that seasonal staff should be treated like everyone else at the company...as by all accounts, they are just like everyone else, except they won't be around as long.

By John P. Savas