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Policies / Handbooks

Get out the vote: Create a voting leave policy

03/15/2024
Were you prepared for the elections that just took place in March? Were your employees clear on when they could take time to vote? Make sure you are prepared come November by implementing a policy or scrutinizing your current one. You can encourage voter turnout by implementing a voting-leave policy that shows employees you take the right to vote seriously.

Considering return-to-office mandate? Read this research first

03/04/2024
Are your organization’s leaders thinking about ordering staff to return to in-person work after four years of telecommuting? It might pay to consider the findings of a recent study that found that return-to-office mandates generally fail to deliver performance gains. They do alienate employees.

Access to Personnel Files: 50 State Laws

02/16/2024
No federal law grants employees the right to inspect their personnel files. However, many states do give employees that right and spell out the terms under which employees are allowed to inspect their files. Here’s a state-by-state list of laws governing access to personnel files.

Can you rein in political speech at work?

02/16/2024
Most employers would prefer employees focus on work and not the state of the world when they are on the clock. So how can you quell political arguments in the workplace? You must balance employees’ interest in speaking freely with your interest in maintaining order and productivity:

A DEI smackdown: Good intentions vs. the law

02/14/2024
In the blue corner, from the Big D, the former owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and serial entrepreneur Mark Cuban. And in the red corner, hailing from our nation’s capital, EEOC Commissioner Andrea Lucas.

Committed to DEI? Here’s how to make it work

02/05/2024
While diversity, equity and inclusion programs have recently come under fire, the Littler Mendelson law firm’s just-released Inclusion, Equity and Diversity C-Suite Survey Report found that most employers remain committed to DEI initiatives. Here are several ways you can leverage DEI to improve organizational performance.

Docking pay for snow-day absences: When is it legal?

02/04/2024
The snow’s coming down pretty good and an exempt employee calls to say she can’t make it in today because her car is stuck. Can you deduct a full day’s pay from her salary for that missed day? What if she’s non-exempt? What if you close work because of bad weather? Here’s guidance—and a handy flowchart—to help you make the call.

Get written acknowledgment for every missed shift

02/02/2024
Employers that have clear rules and apply them fairly seldom lose termination lawsuits—if they can prove their employees understood the rules. One of the best ways to demonstrate that is by consistently having workers acknowledge that they broke a rule. Do this at the time you discipline the worker, pointing out what rule they broke. A brief written disciplinary notice with a space for the employee’s signature should to the trick.

Know the limits on banning weapons at work

02/02/2024
Employers are required to keep their employees safe at work. To that end, many ban weapons of any kind on company premises. But depending on your location, that may or may not be permissible.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, review policies addressing sexual harassment

01/31/2024
With February comes Valentine’s Day, as good an excuse as any to review your company communications policies so employees understand there are limits on how, where and when they can embrace the spirit of romance at work.