HRIS / Technology

What should we do before we start taping employees’ phone conversations?

08/26/2009

Q. For quality-control purposes and to ensure that workers are not making personal telephone calls, we would like to tape-record the calls employees make on company phones. Would that be legal?

Can we mandate EAP counseling when employee views porn at work?

08/26/2009

Q. Our Internet policy says that if we find employees accessing pornographic web sites, they’ll receive a three-day suspension without pay and a mandatory referral to an EAP counselor. Can we require this?

Porn on shared computer? Investigate carefully

08/14/2009

Your computer-usage policy no doubt prohibits visiting pornographic and other inappropriate sites. But what if someone surfs forbidden sites using a computer that an entire group of employees has access to? That makes it difficult to positively identify the guilty user. Your IT department can provide technical assistance so you can base your investigation and conclusions on facts.

Preventing identity theft: 6 steps to protect employees’ data

08/11/2009

Employers have a duty to protect their employees from identity theft. The federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) says employers that negligently or purposely let employees’ personally identifiable data fall into the wrong hands can face fines of up to $2,500 per infraction. Here are six tips on developing a data security strategy:

Downside of providing a recommendation on an employee’s social media page?

08/07/2009

Q. An employee has asked me, as his direct supervisor, to provide him a recommendation on his LinkedIn page. He’s a good employee and I don’t see any harm in granting his request. Are there any risks?

Photo contest unites global IT workforce

08/07/2009

Execs at IT provider Dimension Data had three challenges: (1) promote employee awareness of the company’s “green” initiatives; (2) address low morale as workers and the organization struggle with the economy; and (3) encourage a global workforce to interact more with each other. It solved all three problems with a photo contest.

Update your policies: North Carolina bans texting while driving

07/27/2009

Cell phones, BlackBerries, iPods, iPhones and GPS devices—even laptop computers—all offer important travel information and productive work connectivity for employees on the go. But using those devices while operating a vehicle is also dangerous. That’s why North Carolina recently passed a law, effective Dec. 1, making it unlawful for a person operating a motor vehicle to send text or e-mail messages while the vehicle is in motion.

A matter of policy: Doing 4 things right helps win lawsuits

07/27/2009

It’s a mantra that can’t be repeated too often: Develop a policy, communicate it to your employees, investigate when you learn of possible infractions and, if wrongdoing did occur, punish those who violated the policy. It’s refreshing to report on an employer that did everything right and emerged victorious from court.

Tap into the power of e-mail to change employees’ health habits

07/24/2009

When employees hunch over keyboards all day, all the motivational posters in all the break rooms of the world won’t improve their health. Solution: Deliver practical, actionable advice directly into employees’ e-mail in-boxes.

Press ‘send’ for liability: The legal risk of misdirected e-mail