06/01/2002
New Labor Department rules say employers can use electronic means to give employees benefits information, like summary plan descriptions, individual benefit statements and COBRA notices. The rules even allow more options, ...
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06/01/2002
Q. Some of our employees have been getting a lot of spam e-mail that advertises porn sites. I'm concerned that an employee will consider this junk as creating a hostile work environment. What can we do to protect ourselves? —M.C., Minnesota
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05/01/2002
For 12 years, a senior insurance executive used two company- provided computers, one at the office and one at his home. He had signed his company's computer policy, agreeing to use ...
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05/01/2002
Many companies have policies regarding telephone calls at work. But these policies often fall short of including the use of phones and other wireless devices for business while driving. Don't let ...
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04/01/2002
An administrative sales assistant at an insurance agency quit after learning that her personal phone calls were being monitored and recorded by her company through a hidden tape recorder. ...
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04/01/2002
In the wake of the Enron debacle, the U.S. Labor Department has introduced a new toll-free number, (866) 275-7922, for companies and employees who have questions about their retirement ...
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02/01/2002
Research scientist Michelangelo Delfino was fired for harassing fellow workers at a medical lab. A co-worker, Mary Day, resigned two months later. Soon after, the pair used the Internet to unleash ...
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02/01/2002
If an employee files a discrimination charge against you with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), don't expect the case to hang in limbo. Reason: The EEOC is processing new discrimination ...
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01/01/2002
Bell Atlantic Corp., now Verizon, hired drivers for its senior executives. While some drivers were considered Bell employees, others were independent contractors paid a flat hourly rate. They had to carry ...
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12/01/2001
Since Sept. 11, security fears have sent companies scurrying to do criminal background checks on job applicants. Many companies are outsourcing this function to Web-based reference checkers. But beware: Some ...
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12/01/2001
Whether you have a work force of three or 3,000, any time you let a worker use your e-mail or Internet service, you're putting your company at risk for lawsuits and ...
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09/01/2001
Imagine that an employee posts confidential information about your company on an Internet message board. What do you do? One company sued the message-board site to learn the identity of the ...
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09/01/2001
Look into turning your back-office duties over to a professional employer organization (PEO). New trends and fresh players have heightened competition among PEOs, which serve as a "co-employer" and handle recruiting, ...
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08/01/2001
If you need a lawyer to handle an employment issue, you can now go online, announce your legal needs and wait for offers from interested lawyers. But as with many things ...
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07/01/2001
Q. The animal care officers who work for us spend 80 percent of their time driving and responding to rescue calls via cell phone. Requiring them to pull off the road while talking on their phones wouldn't work. Is there another way to limit our liability? —D.R., Florida
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