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

Policies / Handbooks

You can require mandatory overtime

09/01/2003

Q. A new employee has just informed his supervisor that he can’t work any overtime. Can we legally fire this person? —G.M., Virginia

Dump strict English-only policy; EEOC cracks down

09/01/2003
Issue: Requiring employees to speak English can be legally risky.
Risk: Overly broad or misguided policies can trigger a national-origin discrimination complaint …

Update your emergency plan with these online tools

09/01/2003
Last month’s blackout in the Northeast proved that company emergency-response plans must prepare for all types of disasters. Here are some online sources to help you review your plan: the Society …

‘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 …

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 …

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