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HR Management

Base light-duty policy on business necessity; enforce it consistently

08/01/2004
Employers are very leery about firing pregnant employees, and rightly so. But don’t let your lawsuit fears paralyze you from taking legal, appropriate actions.
In short, federal law requires that …

Violent reaction from boss may trigger retaliation lawsuit

08/01/2004
If workers want to bring retaliation lawsuits against their employers, they must prove they suffered an “adverse employment action,” such as being fired, threatened or denied a promotion. But a court …

Protecting trade secrets: Loose lips sink your legal defense

08/01/2004
THE LAW. Today’s definition of trade secrets encompasses any information, technical or nontechnical, that your organization has reasonably protected and is valuable enough to give you an actual or potential …

Resignation Notice Policy May Not Be Enforceable

08/01/2004

Q. Is it legal to require management employees to give us a longer resignation period than other employees? —M.L., Missouri

Are departed employees eligible for bonuses?

08/01/2004

Q. Our company pays out bonuses in the year after the work is completed, sometimes late into the first quarter. If an employee resigns prior to the bonus payout date (say in January), do we have to pay that employee the bonus? —A.G., South Carolina

You can land in trouble for trying to stop harassment

08/01/2004
Issue: Can you encourage employees to report on-the-job harassment from union organizers? Risk: Your efforts may be viewed as an illegal union-busting …

Wal-Mart bias case will give employees bad ideas

08/01/2004
Now would be a good time to review your organization’s hiring, firing, promotion and pay policies for any hint of gender-based differences. Reason: The big Wal-Mart sex discrimination lawsuit that hit …

Mold is gold: Identify problems to avoid lawsuits

08/01/2004
A new National Academy of Sciences study says damp, moldy buildings can make asthma worse and cause coughing and other respiratory problems in healthy people. And mold …

12 ways to slay the health care inflation dragon

08/01/2004
Issue: The CEO is looking over HR’s shoulder, expecting you to find the magic bullet to reduce health-insurance costs. Benefit: Saving the organization money …

To cut turnover, give applicants a realistic view of job

08/01/2004
Issue: How much should you, or the hiring manager, “sell” a position versus giving the full picture, warts and all? Risk: Providing an overly rosy scenario will create …