• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Employee Relations

Spur on the brainstorm of the century

07/25/2013
You can help your organization’s brainstorming sessions soar to new creative heights simply by posting these “Rules of Engagement” for the group to follow.

‘Lunch Roulette’ app is a co-worker matchmaker

07/25/2013
Sociable employees of Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. never have to eat lunch alone, thanks to a new mobile app that connects co-workers who might otherwise never meet. After a BIPI social media strategist found himself without anyone to sit with in the company cafeteria in Connecticut, he and a colleague created Lunch Roulette.

Court points way toward tracking employees with GPS

07/24/2013
A recent New York Court of Appeals case offers guidance to employers that want to slap GPS devices on employees’ cars to monitor their activities.

Law firm employee convicted of true copycat crime

07/23/2013
A New York City man is headed to prison after being convicted of selling his employer’s copier toner on the black market.

Annual reviews for part-timers: Are they required?

07/22/2013
Q. Are annual performance appraisals required for our part-time employees?  — Pamela, West Virginia

Employee won’t cooperate with investigation? That’s legitimate grounds for discharge

07/17/2013
You can reasonably expect em­­ployees to cooperate with internal investigations so you can get all the facts and make well-informed decisions. You can and should discipline workers who won’t assist.

Zip it! Keep all investigations confidential

07/17/2013
Employees who participate in internal investigations into discrimination charges are protected from retaliation. That’s why it’s good policy to keep investigations confidential. Don’t divulge the names of cooperating employees to anyone who doesn’t need to know.

Don’t worry a somewhat negative performance review will cost you a lawsuit

07/09/2013
Here’s one less thing to worry about when preparing performance reviews: Employees can’t use a poor review as an excuse to sue unless they can show it affected their job in some significant way, such as making the employee ineligible for a pro­­motion.

Can we ban moonlighting?

07/08/2013
Q. We have an employee who recently started working a second job. We currently don’t have a rule against moonlighting, but now he frequently comes in late and tired. It’s really affecting his work. Are we legally entitled to ban second jobs?

Beware the potential legal risks of 360-degree performance reviews

07/08/2013

Seeking performance appraisal input from too many employees can cause problems if you’re sued by a terminated worker. The wider the net you cast, the more likely someone will be called to testify about his or her opinion of the discharged employee’s performance. The problem: If any of those co-workers retire, quit and move on, you may have trouble tracking them down.