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Employee Relations

Monitoring staff phones? Hang up when you realize it’s a personal call

05/01/2003
You can monitor your employees’ communications, within reasonable limits. But you can’t let your monitoring escalate to eavesdropping and violate workers’ …

Don’t let abusive staff use disability as excuse; you can fire for behavior

05/01/2003
Don’t allow employees to use their disabilities as justification for poor behavior, especially if it clearly threatens your workplace. Even if an employee is …

Workers can’t demand telecommute option

04/01/2003
Don’t be bullied by a disabled employee who says you must let her work from home as an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation. It’s true that a reasonable …

Employee handbooks: Craft with care to secure ‘at-will’ policy

04/01/2003
THE LAW. While law doesn’t directly regulate employee handbooks, they are extremely important legal tools. A handbook documents your policies, builds trust …

Don’t try to block employee’s lawyer from talking with your staff

03/01/2003
If Disgruntled Don in accounting sues your company, his lawyer can talk with other employees and, under most state laws, there’s not much …

One ‘come-on’ can equal sexual harassment

03/01/2003
Don’t hesitate to discipline first-time sexual-harassment violators. Even one outrageous comment or act, if severe enough, can make your company liable for fostering …

Shutdown caused by sudden loss of business won’t trigger WARN Act

02/01/2003
An automobile-parts manufacturer got a jolt when a major customer refused to pay for a shipment and ceased all future orders without warning. That forced the manufacturer …

Focus on tangible perks to retain best workers

02/01/2003
Are HR professionals in tune with their employees’ wants and needs? Not exactly, suggests a survey of more than 1,000 employees and HR professionals by USA Today …

Whistle-blowers gain courage thanks to Time honor

02/01/2003
More than ever, it’s important to keep lines of communication open with employees and to make sure they can air grievances without fear of retaliation. Reason: …

‘Possibility’ of serious illness wins coverage

02/01/2003
The rule has been drummed into your brain: An employee can take job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) if he suffers from a …