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Policies / Handbooks

Adopt an anti-harassment policy and plan—before workplace malice gets out of hand

08/28/2009

Do you know exactly how you should respond to a sexual or racial harassment complaint? If you don’t, now is a good time to come up with a strategy—before you have to implement it. Advice: Your plan should spell out exactly how the harassment investigation will be handled, who will handle it and what will happen if the allegations prove true.

What should we do before we start taping employees’ phone conversations?

08/26/2009

Q. For quality-control purposes and to ensure that workers are not making personal telephone calls, we would like to tape-record the calls employees make on company phones. Would that be legal?

Can we mandate EAP counseling when employee views porn at work?

08/26/2009

Q. Our Internet policy says that if we find employees accessing pornographic web sites, they’ll receive a three-day suspension without pay and a mandatory referral to an EAP counselor. Can we require this?

Rely on individual disability accommodations; you won’t be targeted for a class action

08/25/2009

Here’s a bit of good news for employers: While class-action lawsuits have been all the rage in recent years, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to expand the types of cases that can become class-action claims when the ADA is at the heart of the case.

Five rules for keeping the promotions process fair

08/25/2009

Supervisors who want to hand-select a particular employee for a job may be tempted to play fast and loose with the company promotion process. Watch out!

Fight harassment with a no-sex-talk policy

08/20/2009

For years, employers have grappled with the question of what exactly is “sexual harassment” and how much sexual banter is allowable. But lost in that debate is the fact that a workplace is just that—a place where work is supposed to be done. Here’s one good way to end this legal tightrope-walking and prevent potential problems down the line: Implement a policy that clearly bans sexual banter. Then punish those in violation.

Disability isn’t a free pass to insubordination; enforce behavior rules with all employees

08/20/2009

Some employees with genuine disabilities may think they can use their physical or mental conditions as an excuse to break workplace behavior rules. They can’t. As long as those rules are clearly explained and enforced equally, you don’t have to listen to my-disability-made-me-do-it excuses. You can lower the boom.

Must we allow (or stop) Bible study at work?

08/20/2009

Q. An employee sent a companywide e-mail inviting employees to attend a morning prayer and Bible study prior to work that will be held on the company premises. Do we have to allow this (or do we have to shut it down)?

Porn on shared computer? Investigate carefully

08/14/2009

Your computer-usage policy no doubt prohibits visiting pornographic and other inappropriate sites. But what if someone surfs forbidden sites using a computer that an entire group of employees has access to? That makes it difficult to positively identify the guilty user. Your IT department can provide technical assistance so you can base your investigation and conclusions on facts.

Under 50 employees? How FMLA could apply to you regardless

08/11/2009

Under the FMLA, employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles of the company’s work site are required to provide FMLA leave to their employees. But even if you’re a small employer, innocent mistakes could make the “50/75 rule” meaningless to you — and force you to provide FMLA leave. Learn how to avoid that trap.