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Employee Relations

9th Circuit chief judge escapes porn-at-work punishment

01/04/2010

The Judicial Council of the 3rd Circuit recently released its opinion dismissing a porn-related misconduct case against 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Kozinski. The complaint, brought by a court administrator, accused Kozinski and two other judges of disabling the court’s Internet filters to download illegal pornography and pirated music without being detected.

Sample Policy: Terminations

01/01/2010
The following sample policies were excerpted from The Book of Company Policies, published by HR Specialist. Edit for your organization’s purposes. _____________________ Sample Policy 1: “There are two ways to terminate employment: voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary terminations include resignations, retirement, failure to return from leave, failure to report to work for three consecutive days without […]

What’s the law on hiring a private eye to check for workers’ comp fraud?

01/01/2010

Q. We suspect one of our employees has filed a fraudulent workers’ compensation claim. We would like to hire a private investigator to gather information on the worker’s activities. What laws would govern that decision?

Griddlegate: Pancakes, French toast sweetened state e-mails

01/01/2010

Gov. Charlie Crist has called for an investigation following allegations that Florida Department of Transportation employees used code words in e-mails referring to the state’s pending high-speed rail program. Some e-mails refer to “pancakes” and “French toast,” apparent code words for aspects of the transit. The suspected reason for the syrupy sleight of hand: to avoid having the e-mails discovered through Freedom of Information Act requests.

Handling an EEOC investigation

01/01/2010

Q. A former employee recently filed a complaint against my company with the EEOC. He is alleging race discrimination. As part of its investigation, the EEOC will be coming to our offices to interview employees. Do I have to make these employees available? Can I sit in on the employee interviews?

Focus on productivity and ROI: Vision benefits gain value as workforce ages

12/30/2009

Maybe it’s that the screen of a BlackBerry is just too small to read—or maybe the eyesight of your aging workforce is beginning to dim. As screens get smaller and employees spend more time looking at them, encourage employees to have their eyes checked regularly.

HR in the new year: 10 trends, 10 resolutions

12/28/2009

The cost cutting and staff reductions may not be completely over, but as the economy begins its recovery, HR will be dealing with new challenges in 2010. Here are 10 trends to expect in the coming year, plus tips and tools to help you respond to each:

Evaluating employee before return to work? Know difference between medical, agility tests

12/25/2009

Under the ADA, employers aren’t allowed to subject employees to medical tests unless they can prove that the examinations are job-related and consistent with business necessity. However, they can ask employees to perform agility tests. The line between the two is difficult to find. But get it wrong, and you may have an ADA discrimination case on your hands.

Don’t know who’s harassing? What to do

12/24/2009

What’s an employer to do when an employee complains of anonymous harassment? You may never be able to figure out who is doing the harassing, but you must still do something—if only to show that your company doesn’t approve. Begin by opening an internal investigation, just as you would for any other complaint.

Firing due to ‘romantic tension’: Is it sex bias?

12/22/2009

When co-worker relationships break up, tensions can boil over in the workplace. Back-stabbing and name-calling may play out in the office—and that may require discipline. When that happens, investigate thoroughly. But watch out for discipline that looks suspiciously like discrimination against just one of the former lovebirds.