Safety/Health

Call security! But don’t micromanage them

11/07/2008

If you hire a security company to help keep your workplace safe for customers and employees, make sure your supervisors don’t wind up providing specific direction to the guards the company assigns to your company. If you and your staff resist the temptation to control their every move and give them just general instructions, the security company and its guards remain independent contractors. That’s important for liability reasons.

Employer not liable for worker’s injury caused by co-workers

11/07/2008

In most circumstances, employers aren’t going to be held directly responsible if an employee suffers a physical injury because of something a fellow employee did. Instead, such cases are handled through the workers’ compensation system.

Suspend employee who makes veiled threats

11/06/2008

Could a stressed-out employee who makes veiled threats be a danger to himself or others? It’s the kind of quandary that keeps HR pros awake at night. And because the stakes are potentially high, it’s hard to know what to do. The most prudent course of action: Suspend the employee until you can sort matters out.

Workplace violence: Recognizing the threats, reducing the danger

10/28/2008

If you’ve ever visited YouTube.com, you may have clicked on videos showing an assortment of office meltdowns. Laptops get smashed, desks are overturned. While some of these are funny to watch, each one probably made you think, “Man, I hope nothing like that ever happens at our office.” Sad to say, it could …

There’s getting hurt … then there’s the fear of getting hurt

10/27/2008

Here’s a tale of workplace terror so harrowing that one of the characters even used a pseudonym when he filed for workers’ comp … for injuries he had yet to receive.

No ifs, ands or butts: Know Pennsylvania’s new smoking ban

10/22/2008

In June, Gov. Ed Rendell signed into law the Clean Indoor Air Act (CIAA), which regulates smoking in places across the commonwealth (except the city of Philadelphia because it already has a similar smoking ban in place). The CIAA prohibits smoking in indoor areas such as enclosed public places, restaurants, nightclubs and workplaces …

How can I ensure a safe work environment?

10/22/2008

Q. What are some proactive strategies employers can implement to promote a safe workplace? …

Employees dodge bullet, foil retail robbery

10/21/2008

When a masked man pulled a gun on employees as they opened an Aaron Rents store in Atlanta and demanded cash, the workers complied, handing over roughly $5,000. But when the robber, Shawn Henderson, asked for more, the employees decided to fight back …

Courts rein in some out-of-bounds employee lawsuits

10/10/2008

Sometimes, it seems as if employees and their attorneys will try anything to squeeze money from employers. But now some courts are telling employees, “Enough is enough.”

Reason prevails: No need to warn of obvious hazards

10/06/2008

Employers who don’t sign up for the Texas workers’ compensation system can be sued directly by employees who are injured on the job. But that doesn’t mean every workplace accident will result in a damaging lawsuit judgment …