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Policies / Handbooks

Avoid retaliation lawsuits with these 4 best practices

06/15/2023
Retaliation claims brought by unhappy employees—or really, really unhappy former employees—continue to trouble employers nationwide. Here are four recommendations for setting up systems that can help prevent retaliation claims in the first place and—acknowledging that no system can prevent all such claims—at least help the organization establish and prove possible defenses to claims of retaliation that do arise.

Ensure records-retention rule covers work files stored on employees’ personal devices

06/05/2023
You probably have a policy that calls for disposing of records after a certain period of time. Having a routine protocol to shred, delete or burn documents helps control clutter and make it easier to locate documents you don’t dispose of. However, every employer needs another automatic rule that calls for retaining documents that may relate to legal matters that may arise.

Checklist: Make sure your handbook includes all these elements

05/30/2023
Are you sure your handbook includes every crucial provision? From a legal perspective, there are certain must-have elements that belong in every handbook. Here’s a checklist that will help you sleep well knowing you didn’t miss something important—and keep you out of court.

Distracted Gen Zers? Maybe it’s the moonlighting

05/30/2023
Do your Gen Z employees seem a little more preoccupied and absent-minded than usual these days? The problem might be their other jobs—driving for rideshare companies, selling stuff online, influencing on social media and otherwise engaging in part-time work. According to a recent study by the Deloitte consulting firm, almost half of nearly 15,000 Gen Z workers surveyed hold down a second job or side hustle.

Ensure your handbook leaves out details about benefits

05/22/2023
Your handbook probably states you reserve the right to amend it at any time for any reason. That disclaimer helps protect against claims that your handbook is a binding contract. But that kind of language can cause problems if your handbook describes benefits that may be covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Beware dress codes with gender-specific rules

05/15/2023
If your dress and grooming code includes gender-specific requirements, you could be courting a sex-discrimination lawsuit.

Two legal must-haves for your employee handbook

05/12/2023
Compiling and updating your employee handbook is a daunting task that gets longer every day as employers grapple with a growing list of laws and policies to include in this document. But according to one legal counsel and another HR expert who presented at a recent employment law conference, there are only two legally mandated provisions that must be included in your handbook: information on the FMLA and an anti-harassment policy.

Meetings are bad—should we cancel them all?

05/10/2023
Setting a policy restricting meetings is well-intentioned and makes for nice headlines but doesn’t solve the underlying problem. The problem isn’t meetings, it is having meetings that are called for the wrong reasons, have an unclear purpose and/or have too many people in attendance.

Manage the balancing act when accommodating employees’ religious beliefs

05/08/2023
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion and requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs and practices, can sometimes clash with employers’ legitimate business needs and may cause employee-relations problems. Here’s how employers can balance their own needs with their duty to accommodate workers’ religious beliefs and practices.

Avoid surprise OT claims with this simple policy

05/08/2023
The Fair Labor Standards Act imposes stiff penalties on employers that cheat employees out of overtime pay. They must pay double what they should have paid in the first place. But there’s a simple way to avoid that liability: Have a policy that makes it easy for employees to report being underpaid. Then promptly investigate if someone reports not receiving the overtime pay they were expecting.