• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Discipline / Investigations

NLRB shake-up may cause reversals on key cases

09/01/2002
You can expect some good news from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Reason: If the Senate confirms a new slate of Bush appointees to the NLRB, it will be the …

High court: Weingarten rights stand; state family leave case on docket

08/01/2002
It’s official: Employees have the right, even in nonunion workplaces, to bring a co-worker as a witness to an investigative meeting that could result in discipline. Nonunion employees won …

Mean-spirited office pranks carry heavy price

06/01/2002
When a manager at an auto body shop went to the restroom, two fellow employees picked the lock, entered and took a photograph of him while urinating. They distributed the picture …

Working miracles isn’t part of accommodation process

06/01/2002
Louis Cosme applied for a promotion at the Postal Service even though he knew it would require him to work on some Saturdays, the day that he observed the Sabbath through …

Need incentive to brush up anti-discrimination policy? Here it is

06/01/2002
In April, six female employees of a grocery chain won a record $30.6 million from a California jury in a sexual harassment lawsuit, far larger than any previous verdict in an …

Avoid Liability for ‘Porn Spam’

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

React fast, firmly to harassment; courts will reward your judgment

05/01/2002
A political cover-up usually gets people in bigger trouble than the crime itself. The same is true in the workplace. Trying to sweep employee misbehavior under the rug will only dig …

Driving while dialing: Set policy to limit car-phone liability

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 …

FMLA Won’t Cover Tardiness

05/01/2002

Q. Some of our employees routinely ask to use FMLA when they are five, 10 or 15 minutes late. It creates a scheduling nightmare and hurts morale. Does FMLA cover employees who are consistently tardy for work? —M.P., Florida

States up the ante in harassment liability

02/01/2002
Two pivotal Supreme Court decisions in 1998 gave employers a powerful new weapon to defend themselves when sued because of harassment by a supervisor. But recent rulings in a handful of …