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Policies / Handbooks

Don’t stray from layoff procedures

01/01/2003
A 65-year-old employee was laid off as part of a reduction in force. She claimed her supervisor had made age-related comments, and the company failed to follow its published RIF criteria …

Be Specific With Drug and Alcohol Policy

01/01/2003

Q. Our drug and alcohol policy states: “While on company premises and while conducting business for the company off premises, no employee may use, possess, distribute, sell or be under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs.” It’s very clear how this applies at the work site. But some of our staff asked if this also applies to them when they travel or attend out-of-town seminars at hotels. Does our policy still hold up in this situation? —V.S., New Mexico

Don’t Allow Unlimited Sick Leave

01/01/2003

Q. Our company gives eight hours of sick leave per month to nonexempt employees. We’ve been told that, under the FLSA, exempt employees are to be paid whenever they are sick. So our exempt employees have virtually an unlimited sick-leave balance. Is this a correct way to interpret the FLSA? Should we have some type of sick-leave accrual and tracking for our exempts? —D.H., Kentucky

Inconsistent hiring sinks your defense

12/01/2002
Don’t leave the hiring and firing process up to your managers. Standardize your practices, and make sure everyone follows them. Giving any worker, especially a disabled one, the bum’s rush will …

You don’t have to police workplace banter, but don’t let it escalate

12/01/2002
On the production floor, Lisa Ocheltree had to listen to conversations between male co-workers about their sexual exploits, which included vulgar language. The men showed …

Prevent pro-union postings at work by limiting personal solicitations

12/01/2002
After a union launched an organizing campaign at an Arkansas hospital, a nurse put up a screen saver on a hospital computer that said “Look for the U.” Her supervisor gave …

Fix absentee problem; cost of no-shows is rising

12/01/2002
Stop throwing the same solutions at your employee absentee problem. Reason: Per-employee absence costs have reached an all-time high of $789 this year, up from $610 just two years ago, according …

Dress codes: Strip away discrimination, ‘uniform’ dangers

12/01/2002
If your business is image-driven, now’s the time to take a closer look at how you regulate employee appearance. Reason: An increasing number of lawsuits are successfully challenging employers’ dress-code policies. …

Managers: Don’t sit on harassment claim, notify designated person

11/01/2002
When does a company officially “know” of a harassment complaint? It’s not always when the complaint is lodged with the designated person in your reporting procedures. If your lower-level managers get …

Court opens door wider to sexual-orientation lawsuits

11/01/2002
In what gay-rights groups are calling a landmark decision, a federal appeals court has said that homosexuals can use federal civil rights laws to sue for alleged harassment. In the …