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HR Management

Back anti-harassment policy with robust training, enforcement

12/19/2012

It’s great that you have a hostile work environment policy in place and cover it in your training. But none of that will do you much good if supervisors remain oblivious. If hostile acts occur despite your policy, it won’t provide much protection. That’s why you must be proactive.

SOX doesn’t protect safety whistle-blowers

12/19/2012
A federal court in North Carolina has refused to add another legal avenue disgruntled employees can use to sue. The court said even after recent amendments that expanded the scope of the law, the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act doesn’t protect whistle-blowers who report what they believe are serious safety violations at work.

Can we terminate worker to keep domestic violence from spilling over into our workplace?

12/12/2012
Q. We have learned that one of our employees has been subjected to domestic violence and has a restraining order against her boyfriend. We are concerned that the man might become violent in our workplace. We are considering terminating the employee to make sure that our other employees are safe. Does such a termination raise any legal issues?

Investigating customer complaint: How can we access our sales rep’s cellphone records?

12/12/2012

Q. We recently received a complaint that one of our sales reps had sent false emails and texts about one customer to another. We determined that the emails and texts have been sent from the cell­­phone we provide to the sales rep. We asked the service provider to send us copies of the emails and text messages. The service provider refused our request. Why can’t we get that information?

16 firms ace awards honoring gay-friendly practices

12/12/2012
Each year the Human Rights Campaign rates Fortune 500 companies on how well they treat lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. Sixteen Minnesota firms couldn’t have scored any better, earning perfect 100s from the gay-rights advocacy organization.

BWC awards $40,000 grant to Ashtabula company

12/12/2012
Ashtabula-based Iten Industries has received a Safety Intervention Grant from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation to purchase lifting equipment designed to reduce workplace injuries.

9 Ohio firms ace awards honoring gay-friendly practices

12/12/2012
Each year the Human Rights Cam­­paign rates Fortune 500 companies on how well they treat lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. Nine Ohio firms couldn’t have scored any better, earning perfect 100s from the gay-rights advocacy organization.

10 best ways to build trust among your employees

12/12/2012
Surveys consistently show that lack of trust in management is one of the main reasons employees disengage from their work and seek jobs elsewhere. Here are 10 ways managers can work to earn trust from their employees.

Handbooks: 5 simple steps for preserving at-will status

12/07/2012
The easiest way to make sure employees understand that they are employed on an at-will basis is to place disclaimers throughout your employee handbook. Five key elements will help those disclaimers stand up in court if an employee ever mounts a legal challenge to at-will employment.

New DOL toolkit offers tips on workplace flex

12/07/2012
The U.S. Department of Labor last month launched an online Workplace Flexibility Toolkit, which gives employers advice on workplace flexibility policies and practices.