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Policies / Handbooks

DOCC not responsible for employees’ racist remarks

06/10/2008
A court has ruled that the Hennepin County Department of Community Corrections (DOCC) did more than enough to address two employees’ complaints about civil rights violations …

Identity theft and liability: How to reduce the risks facing your business

06/10/2008
How safe is the confidential customer information your company keeps? The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse says that, since February 2005, the personal information of 88 million people has been compromised by data security breaches at companies or government agencies …

E-Mail policies and the NLRA

06/10/2008
Q. I work in the HR department of a unionized company, and our CEO wants me to draw up an employee e-mail use policy. Can I restrict personal e-mail use without violating the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)? …

Business groups battle gun law

06/09/2008
The Florida Retail Federation and the state Chamber of Commerce have filed a joint lawsuit against the Florida Attorney General’s Office, challenging the constitutionality of the state’s recently enacted guns-at-work law …

How not to manage a hostile work environment

06/06/2008
When employees complain about being harassed while at work, employers often wonder how to stop the offending behavior. One thing is certain—simply ordering employees to stop doing what they allegedly are doing isn’t enough …

Make sure picnics and parties are off the clock—And please limit the alcohol

06/06/2008
If you throw an employee party that involves alcohol, make sure no one is on the clock or has to do work on behalf of the organization. Better yet, don’t provide alcohol. One employer didn’t heed that advice and wound up facing a third-party negligence lawsuit …

Make sure handbook spells out maternity leave terms

06/04/2008

Is your employee handbook clear on exactly what constitutes maternity leave and how long it lasts? If you plan to permit just the 12 weeks allowed for pregnancy and childbirth under the FMLA, spell that out. Don’t refer to maternity leave separately and then provide a different week or month count …

Violence on the job? OK to base punishment on job classification and severity of offense

06/04/2008
While a zero-tolerance policy for fighting on the job is a good idea, it may not always be necessary. Instead, you can draw a distinction between violent transgressions and mere arguments that escalate into pushing or shoving. You also may want the discretion to punish workers in some categories more harshly than others …

Noose incident leads to citation at Frontier Airlines

06/03/2008
Denver-based Frontier Airlines says it disciplined two employees who harassed a black co-worker with a noose at Denver International Airport. Juan Sequeira, with help from a fellow employee, allegedly made the noose and showed it to the co-worker in the break room …

Back up discipline with details from your investigation

05/28/2008
Like any responsible employer, your organization probably has a comprehensive employee handbook that details your internal policies and how you handle disciplinary decisions. But no handbook can cover every possible situation. So it’s not enough for supervisors and managers to simply cite a particular rule violation as the reason for firing or suspending an employee …