Policies / Handbooks

Time to revamp policies banning guns in parking lots

11/30/2011

Many employers have workplace violence policies that prohibit employees from possessing firearms in or around the workplace. They’ll have to rethink those policies, now that Texas has a new law that limits most employers’ right to bar employees from having firearms in vehicles parked at employers’ parking areas.

Harassment: How to stop it before–and after–it starts

11/30/2011

Protect your organization from harassment lawsuits by focusing your attention on both preventive and corrective measures. Give every employee a copy of your anti-harassment policy. Train everyone to ensure they understand their rights and responsibilities.

After hours: How to regulate employees’ off-duty behavior

11/29/2011

Employers can regulate what employees do away from work—but only within narrow limits. There are often good reasons to. Some off-duty acts reflect poorly on employers, raise insurance costs and create conflicts of interest. Here’s how to make the call.

Cupid in the workplace: You can terminate supervisor for lying about personal relationship

11/28/2011

What if you suspect a supervisor/subordinate relationship, but the two people deny it? You probably can’t do anything more than reiterate your workplace rule against it. If it turns out the supervisor lied, you can certainly terminate him or her—both for breaking the rule and then lying about it.

Can we collect employee cellphones at the door?

11/25/2011

Q. We’ve had it with all the texting and social networking by employees when they’re supposed to be working. Can we just make them check their electronic devices at the door? Telling them to stop when we catch them isn’t working.

Worried about reining in religious tension? Don’t ban all discussion of faith

11/16/2011

Some employers ban discussion of religion at work, believing that talking about faith might constitute harassment or coercion of workers who aren’t members of a majority religious group. But such a prohibition can cause more problems than it solves.

OSHA issues new rules on investigating workplace violence

10/31/2011

OSHA has issued enforcement instructions regarding incidents of workplace violence. Officials will use the directive to decide whether allegations of workplace violence warrant an investigation. It also details methods employers can use to minimize the possibility of workplace violence.

You can discipline for email abuse–just don’t thwart ‘concerted’ or ‘protected’ activity

10/31/2011

As soon as employers started equipping employees with email accounts and a list of company email addresses, things started getting complicated. You can punish employees for many email attack campaigns—as long as you first make sure the content doesn’t qualify as concerted or protected activity.

As phones turn smart, so must your policy: What to include

10/27/2011

A cellphone policy written five years ago may no longer be sufficient. Blame the rise of smartphones. Their multifunctionality makes it more important than ever to have a mobile phone policy, not only to minimize the risks of talking on a phone while driving, but for a number of other reasons as well.

Managing the downturn: A 13-step plan to avoid layoffs

10/17/2011

AGM Container Controls was lucky to have a good period of growth during the most recent recession, so it didn’t have to lay off any employees, says CEO Howard Stewart. In fact, AGM hasn’t laid off anyone for 20 years. Stewart has made it official policy to follow a 13-step plan to avoid layoffs in the future: