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HR Management

Different vacation policies are legal if done fairly

08/01/2003

Q. We are rewriting our vacation pay policy. Currently, we have two categories of hourly employees. Can we offer 10 vacation days after two years to some employees and five days for the same period to other employees? Can we offer different benefits to salaried and hourly employees? —S.P., Washington

Take extra anti-harassment steps with younger workers

08/01/2003
Issue: Courts may hold your harassment-prevention efforts to a higher standard when young workers are involved.
Risk: Big court judgments, ugly PR and damaged morale …

If workers’ ‘free speech’ threatens others, you can ban it

08/01/2003
Issue: Employees wrongly believe the First Amendment protects their comments at work.
Risk: You don’t need to put up with employees who claim their harassment or bias is just “free …

Launching an alternative dispute-resolution program: 6 steps

08/01/2003
So, you’re thinking about creating a program to help settle employee conflicts in-house. That’s smart; a successful alternative dispute-resolution (ADR) program lets you identify and address problems while they’re still manageable …

Treat FMLA policy changes with care, communication

08/01/2003

When establishing or changing your Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) policy, make sure you include it in your employee handbook. Don’t rely on references to the policy outside the book, and don’t attach or staple the policy separately.

Don’t ignore ergonomics: Risks remain, OSHA can still fine

08/01/2003
Issue: Repetitive-stress injuries didn’t disappear just because OSHA’s mandatory rules were repealed.
Risk: Ergonomic injuries hurt productivity and, surprisingly, you’re still vulnerable to government penalties …

Look to local colleges for training

08/01/2003
Issue: Community colleges provide high-quality employee training at a reasonable cost.
Benefit: Employees learn new skills and feel more loyal to your organization …

Don’t make promises the company might not keep

07/01/2003
Issue: Courts will make your company follow through on oral promises you make about benefits.
Risk: You or an ill-informed manager could inadvertently force your company to provide benefits it …

Don’t put too much stock in initial staff surveys

07/01/2003
If you’ve just started surveying employees about job satisfaction and workplace improvements, the first surveys will show unusually low scores. That’s because employees have lots of pent-up negative comments if they’ve …

Establish a company policy on e-mail deletion, retention

07/01/2003
In spite of growing scrutiny from courts and regulators, most employers still do a poor job of managing e-mail business records and preparing for the likelihood …