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Policies / Handbooks

Gov’t employees: No due process claim to promotion

06/26/2018
Public employees have a right to due process before being deprived of the property interest that is their job. Essentially, that means a public employer has to provide “some sort of a hearing” allowing the worker to present his side of the story before being fired. That right doesn’t extend to a promotion not granted.

Failure to follow reporting procedures can justify firing—even if boss should have acted

06/26/2018
If an employer has a process in place for reporting wrongdoing that includes bypassing one’s supervisor when necessary, employees who don’t take that step can’t aviod punishment by blaming the supervisor. That’s not a justified excuse.

Review handbook for at-will conflicts

06/12/2018
If an employee has a contract with his employer that specifically limits his discharge, then at-will employment does not apply. This situation can get tricky if your employee handbook lacks a contract disclaimer or contains language that seems to limit your right to fire employees.

Snapshot: Big business makes progress on LGBT issues

06/12/2018
An overwhelming majority of Fortune 500 corporations prohibit discrimination on the basis of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender status.

Did Starbucks fail at communicating policy?

05/17/2018
It’s likely that the Starbucks incidents reveal some form of discriminatory animus on the part of individual employees. But from a management and HR perspective, there is another layer.

Rule requiring employees to speak only English at work may be race discrimination

05/07/2018
Take note if you have rules against speaking languages other than English at work: That could constitute race discrimination under Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

Policy alone won’t fend off harassment suit

05/03/2018
You may think having a solid sexual harassment policy is all it takes to thwart a sexual harassment lawsuit. Not if the policy isn’t being followed!

Establish process for verifying employment

04/17/2018
Verification of employment requests are not difficult to process, but you do need a formal system for responding to them.

Feds’ rules for safeguarding sensitive info

04/12/2018
A Trump administration official’s frustration over confidentiality breaches has turned into useful advice that can benefit HR professionals who worry about disclosure of sensitive information.

OK to enforce no-moonlighting policy against employees who take FMLA leave

04/09/2018
Nothing in the FMLA specifically prohibits employees who take FMLA leave from moonlighting for another employer. But as long as employers clearly communicate it, it’s perfectly fine to enforce a no-moonlighting policy against any employee, including those who take FMLA leave.