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Policies / Handbooks

OSHA colors in gray areas of home-office liability

03/01/2000
Bottom line: If you let workers perform hazardous manufacturing operations in their homes, such as assembling electronic components, then your company …

Pay for ‘Floating Holiday’ Depends on Your Policy

03/01/2000

Q. We gave eligible employees a “floating holiday” in lieu of having Dec. 31, 1999, as a paid holiday. We generally pay employees for all unused vacation, sick and personal time upon termination, but we have no policy regarding an unused floating holiday. Do we have to pay workers for any unused floating holidays upon termination? Does it make any difference if the employee requested the day off but the supervisor denied the request? —C.R., Illinois

Snow days might not freeze out exempt workers

03/01/2000

Q. Due to recent snowstorms, some employees have not been able to get to work. Can we dock the pay and/or accrued leave of employees who do not come to work? Can we do so even if the office is closed? Our attorney told us that the Fair Labor Standards Act does not apply to us because, among other things, our gross sales are under $500,000. —A.I., Maryland

No need to alter policy for employees who are expecting

02/01/2000
When she became pregnant, Michelle Spivey worried about lifting a nearly 250-pound patient in her job as a certified nurse’s assistant. She asked the rehabilitation center where she worked for assistance …

Severe but short-term conditions can qualify for ADA protection

02/01/2000
When a data support clerk was diagnosed with depression, she applied for and received 12 weeks’ leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Then she requested an additional three-month leave, …

More firms crack down on employee use of the Web

02/01/2000
Nearly a third of employers, 31 percent, now monitor and/or restrict employee Internet use, according to a Vault.com survey. Approaches range from restricting …

Cure sick-leave abuse

02/01/2000
The percentage of sick days taken because workers see them as a use-it-or-lose-it entitlement has doubled since 1995, according to a new survey by CCH Inc. As a result, the cost …

Beware new legal threat of accepting ‘walk-in’ applicants

02/01/2000
Employment attorneys are increasingly warning companies to avoid relying too heavily on walk-in job applicants. While there’s no legal requirement to advertise a job opening, …

OSHA safety rules: Do homework on employee home work

02/01/2000
If you were watching the U.S. Labor Department last month, you might have whiplash from its quick turnaround on policy guidance regarding an employer’s responsibility for the safety of employee home …

Notify employees before stripping unused vacation

02/01/2000

Q. Can we require employees to forfeit vacation time that they don’t use within a certain period? —G.J., Massachusetts