HR Management

How to spot a dishonest purchasing manager

07/01/2004

Issue: Employees handling your organization’s purse strings could be pulling them in the wrong way. Risk: Lax controls leave your organization wide open to invoice fraud. Action: Suggest the …

Get tough with habitually absent employees

07/01/2004

Q. We have a new administrative employee in our pediatric office who missed 22 days of work in her first nine weeks. She has doctor excuses for illnesses for most of the days, but my front office is in shambles. Can I put her on written warning for excessive absences? Can I terminate her? —C.F., Georgia

Why you should care about 9/11 Commission report

07/01/2004

The federal panel investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks says the private sector is still unprepared for attacks. It’s expected to endorse a national emergency readiness standard that calls on …

Don’t let compassion waylay your career

07/01/2004

Issue: HR specialists can become emotionally hooked on solving employees’ problems. Risk: Resulting emotional overload can sap your time, your energy …

Stereotype about motherhood, by itself, can count as bias

07/01/2004

Remind managers never to base employment decisions on how they believe employees would act based on their gender, race, religion or disability. Make sure managers focus solely on the performance itself, …

Surprise! Off-duty horseplay can qualify as ‘work time’

07/01/2004

Issue: Your broad liability for workers’ comp injuries. Risk: If supervisors exert control over employees outside the workplace, your organization could be liable for resulting injuries. Action: Alert supervisors …

What’s the cost of a chair? A lot less than a lawsuit

07/01/2004

Issue: Minor squabbles between employees and supervisors escalating into illegal “discipline.” Risk: If left unchecked, they can escalate, resulting in discrimination or retaliation claims. Action: Use the following case …

Continued employment may be enough to make noncompetes legal

06/01/2004

If you ask employees to sign an agreement not to compete with your organization for a certain length of time after they leave, the agreement isn’t binding unless you offer the …

Four-Year degree won’t automatically earn exemption

06/01/2004

Q. Regarding the “learned professional” exemption, is it safe to say that a person with a four-year degree would be considered in that category, but a person with an associate’s or two-year degree would not? —Marilyn, Pennsylvania

New exemption definitions aren’t retroactive

06/01/2004

Q. If, according to the revised Labor Department regulations, we’ve been improperly classifying certain employees, would we need to go back and reimburse them? At that time, we thought they were properly classified. —Becky, Texas