Policies / Handbooks

Good faith–not perfection–is standard for deciding if wrongdoing calls for discipline

01/07/2011

Do you worry that you need absolute proof of wrongdoing before disciplining an employee? You don’t. Employers have to be fair, not absolutely right.

Sick leave and FMLA: Should you call off your call-in policy?

01/07/2011

Does your call-in policy demand that employees contact their supervisors daily when they’re out sick? If so, can you still require that of employees who are out on FMLA leave? Here’s what a ruling last week said …

How to Respond to an EEOC Complaint: 10 Steps to Success

01/04/2011

The EEOC and state and local agencies have been filing more administrative charges in recent years and that trend is likely to continue. Because administrative charges can be precursors to discrimination lawsuits, it’s critical for you to handle them properly. These 10 tips will help you prepare to respond: 1. Tell the whole story Often, […]

EEOC issues new mandatory poster highlighting GINA

01/04/2011

It’s time to update your break-room bulletin board. The EEOC has issued a new “EEO is the Law” poster that most employers must display, now including information on employee rights under the recently enacted Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. Download it here.

Are employers required to ban texting while driving?

12/31/2010

The legal wall against texting while driving is building. In 2009, an executive order prohibited federal employees from doing it. In 2010, federal regulations made it illegal for commercial truck and bus drivers to do it. And laws in at least 30 states make it unlawful for all drivers to text in the driver’s seat. But what about drivers who aren’t covered under any of those laws?

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire … or, in some cases, no hire

12/22/2010

Many employers are deciding not to hire smokers, and still more are trying to limit employees’ use of tobacco. Companies are screening new hires for nicotine as a condition for employment, imposing higher health-benefit premiums for smokers and trying to help smokers quit. Policies run the gamut:

Lessons learned from the big WikiLeaks breach

12/21/2010

“If the recent WikiLeaks release of more than a quarter-million sensitive government files is not a wake-up call to companies about the need to proactively protect confidential information, nothing is,” says Michael Greco, a partner at Fisher & Phillips LLP.

The pain truth: Prescription drug abuse on the rise at work

12/17/2010

Employee drug abuse continues to be the trend that just won’t go away. And it’s not just illegal drugs causing problems these days. Quest Diagnostics estimates that the use of prescription painkillers by American workers and job applicants has increased by 40% since 2005. More than 70% of prescription drug abusers hold jobs, upping the risk of work-related injuries.

Is a policy still a policy if it’s not in writing?

12/15/2010

Will a court acknowledge a company “policy” that doesn’t exist on paper? One court recently did—even though the policy wasn’t written anywhere—because the policy was being followed by all managers. Still, when in doubt, it’s best to write it out.

Catch 22: The records-retention steps you must always be ready to take

12/14/2010

Employers and HR professionals hear it all the time: You must be prepared to preserve relevant documents and produce them if you are sued. You can take some preparatory steps to ensure that you can comply with inevitable litigation holds and are proficiently primed to assist your attorneys should litigation occur. This list of 22 to-do’s can guide your document and data preservation and retention procedures: