05/16/2008
Employers that provide laptops to employees and that suspect an employee might be aiding a competitor can inspect the company-owned laptop without violating the employee’s right to privacy. Employers should, however, exercise discretion while searching the computer ...
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05/14/2008
Hanjuan Jin, a former software engineer for a suburban Chicago telecommunications firm identified as “Company A” for security reasons, has been indicted on charges of stealing business trade secrets and attempting to take them to China ...
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05/13/2008
You’d never discuss how much money you make, right? Dude, that attitude is so 20th century! The 20-somethings you work with eagerly dish about salaries, bonuses and other work topics you might consider taboo. Managers tempted to forbid such talk? Don’t let them! Here's why.
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05/01/2008
It’s considered impolite in many circles to discuss money, but don’t try to stop employees from talking about their pay. Setting a policy that prohibits employees from sharing information about hourly rates, salaries, bonuses or the terms of their employment could violate the National Labor Relations Act—even if your employees do not belong to a union ...
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04/22/2008
When any valued employee leaves, the company experiences a loss. The loss is greater, however, when the former employee departs to work for a competitor and begins using the company’s confidential information or trade secrets. HR has a key role to play in protecting a company’s proprietary information. Here’s how to do it ...
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04/07/2008
A year and a half ago, the Texas Supreme Court clarified whether employers may require new and existing employees to sign noncompete agreements without changing their at- will status. The court concluded they can—as long as the employer provides proper consideration in return ...
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04/01/2008
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Cory Voorhis is on unpaid leave over allegations that he misused confidential agency data to aid the 2006 gubernatorial campaign of Bob Beauprez ...
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04/01/2008
Q. We would like to monitor e-mail usage at our workplace. Can we access employee e-mail without violating their rights to privacy? ...
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04/01/2008
Employers and employees often wonder about the benefits and drawbacks of employment contracts. Most employees do not have employment contracts. However, contracts may be appropriate for company officers, management employees, salespeople and key employees. Who’s right for an employment contract? ...
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03/01/2008
Q. What kinds of information and documents should we keep in our personnel files? ...
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03/01/2008
Q. We recently had salary adjustment, and some of our employees have been comparing their raises. But we have a policy that states that compensation matters are confidential. Executives have asked HR to speak to the offending employees and gently remind them about our policy. I am concerned that if I speak to any of the employees, the problem will just get worse. Ideas? ...
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03/01/2008
Q. Our company would like to start a program where all sales employees will use cell phones that have GPS monitoring. We want to keep track of where employees are so we can make sure they make their sales calls in their own territories and are not wasting time. Is this OK to do? Must we tell employees about the GPS monitoring? What about tracking employees after hours? ...
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03/01/2008
The IRS last month posted a warning to taxpayers about e-mail and phone-based scams that falsely use the IRS’ name. The goal: Trick you into giving up your Social Security number, credit card info and other key financial data ...
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03/01/2008
The IRS has posted a warning about e-mail and phone-based scams that falsely use the agency’s name. The goal: Trick people into giving up their Social Security numbers and other financial data ...
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02/05/2008
Cell phones with camera capabilities can expose your organization to legal problems: privacy claims, trade-secret vulnerabilities, employee theft ...
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