• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

HR Management

Don’t sabotage former employees’ chances for future employment

08/01/2003
The legal risks of providing references on ex-employees has caused some companies to put up a “No references” sign. That’s not a smart move. Eventually, refusing …

Prepare for changes in reporting
workers’ race on EEO-1 form

08/01/2003
Expect more headaches (and questions from employees) when trying to complete your EEO-1 form next year. Reason: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is proposing changes to the government form, …

How to close the door on invasion-of-privacy lawsuits

08/01/2003
Most companies don’t spend a lot of time worrying about their employees’ privacy rights. But they should. Consider this: Privacy lawsuits jumped 300 percent …

Less chance of receiving ‘no match’ letter from SSA in 2003

08/01/2003
Issue: Letters from the Social Security Administration (SSA) flushed out thousands of illegal aliens working in U.S. companies, creating chaos for HR departments …

‘Free speech’ no protection to workers

08/01/2003
The next time an employee argues that he has a First Amendment right to say whatever he wants at work, wear a T-shirt with a controversial message or display …

Take extra anti-harassment steps with young staff

08/01/2003
Warning: Courts may view especially young workers differently when it comes to the issue of harassment, affording them more leeway when they fail …

Don’t change benefits without union’s knowledge.

08/01/2003
For more than 30 years, a company sponsored blood donation drives twice a year. Employees could participate during paid work time. But when the com-pany changed its policy, …

Big settlement over dress code will spark scrutiny of uniform law

08/01/2003
Avoid dress-code rules that have no clear business reason or health and safety reason, plus check with your state labor department to see if your state has a pay-for-uniform …

Encouraging diversity: Lessons from Supreme Court’s affirmative-action rulings

08/01/2003
The U.S. Supreme Court’s pivotal rulings in the University of Michigan affirmative action cases this summer provide some direction on how far employers can go …

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