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HR Management

Misconduct inquiries: What workers ask & how to answer

03/17/2010

To conduct misconduct interviews that don’t provide legal ammunition to the employee, come prepared with answers to tough-but-valid questions that employees may ask during the investigation. Here are some of the most difficult questions along with responses that can protect you legally.

Your 10-point checklist for ensuring an NLRA-compliant handbook

03/16/2010
There are many good reasons to regularly review your employee handbook. But here’s another good reason to review and update your policies: A poorly written or overly broad handbook could result in unfair labor practices charges from the National Labor Relations Board. That’s true even if your workforce isn’t unionized.

March Madness! Is it time to crack down on office gambling?

03/16/2010

Once again it’s time for “March Madness.” If your workplace is like many, talk of NCAA tournament picks and the Final Four will be everywhere, as well as bets on the games. While office pools are a lot of fun, they also can present some risk for employers. Consider developing a written policy on workplace gambling to prevent things from getting out of control.

‘Healthy Workplace’ winners eat well during meetings

03/16/2010

Winners of the Thurston County, Wash., Chamber of Commerce’s “Healthy Workplace” designation are serious about what their employees eat—especially during business meetings. Here are four examples of how Thurston County employers encourage their staffs to lay off the junk food while at work.

Lawsuit-proof hiring tactic: Develop a policy to post all jobs–and follow it

03/15/2010

Here’s one of the simplest ways to avoid failure-to-hire litigation: Adopt a uniform system for posting openings—and then stick with that system. If you do, employees won’t be able to claim later that they didn’t know about an opening and would have applied if only they knew. Plus, transparency protects you against claims you were trying to dissuade certain individuals from applying.

Sears finalizes record ADA settlement, worth $6.2 million

03/12/2010

A federal judge has approved a $6.2 million settlement agreement between Chicago-based retail giant Sears and the EEOC. The settlement comes after the commission determined last year that Sears’ policy of terminating disabled employees rather than negotiating reasonable accommodations violated the ADA.

Suspect sick leave abuse? Set strong policy to stamp it out–and allow legit FMLA leave

03/12/2010

Unplanned absences can disrupt even the best-run workplaces. Of course, you don’t want truly sick employees to come to work if they have some contagious illness. Nor do you want to discourage employees from taking legitimate FMLA leave. Your challenge as an employer: Craft and enforce an attendance policy that allows or even encourages legitimate sick leave use while discouraging abuse.

Rehiring ex-employees? Beware these 6 common slip-ups

03/11/2010
As the economy rebounds, you may be looking closely at ex-employees who departed on good terms. Here are six common rehiring mistakes.

Offer flex schedules to low-wage workers, too

03/11/2010

Plenty of organizations offer flexible schedules, allow telework and let parents slip out early once in a while to catch a child’s soccer game. But in many workplaces, those benefits are perks that only managers and white-collar workers enjoy. Yet several studies show that when low-wage employees have some flexibility in their hours, teamwork improves and unscheduled absences abate. If your organization’s lower-wage employees are candidates for flex, consider these eight strategies.

Worker wants to alter a discipline note she saw in her personnel file—Now what?

03/11/2010

Q. An employee asked to review her personnel file, and we let her. Now she wants us to change a discipline notice she found in the file. We don’t have to do that, do we?