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

Employee Relations

Treat disability assistance requests with speed, or risk court action

05/01/2003
When an employee asks you to accommodate her claimed disability, don’t put the request on the back burner.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires an “interactive process” with employees …

Monitoring staff phones? Hang up when you realize it’s a personal call

05/01/2003
You can monitor your employees’ communications, within reasonable limits. But you can’t let your monitoring escalate to eavesdropping and violate workers’ …

Don’t let abusive staff use disability as excuse; you can fire for behavior

05/01/2003
Don’t allow employees to use their disabilities as justification for poor behavior, especially if it clearly threatens your workplace. Even if an employee is …

Workers can’t demand telecommute option

04/01/2003
Don’t be bullied by a disabled employee who says you must let her work from home as an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation. It’s true that a reasonable …

Employee handbooks: Craft with care to secure ‘at-will’ policy

04/01/2003
THE LAW. While law doesn’t directly regulate employee handbooks, they are extremely important legal tools. A handbook documents your policies, builds trust …

Don’t try to block employee’s lawyer from talking with your staff

03/01/2003
If Disgruntled Don in accounting sues your company, his lawyer can talk with other employees and, under most state laws, there’s not much …

One ‘come-on’ can equal sexual harassment

03/01/2003
Don’t hesitate to discipline first-time sexual-harassment violators. Even one outrageous comment or act, if severe enough, can make your company liable for fostering …

Shutdown caused by sudden loss of business won’t trigger WARN Act

02/01/2003
An automobile-parts manufacturer got a jolt when a major customer refused to pay for a shipment and ceased all future orders without warning. That forced the manufacturer …

Focus on tangible perks to retain best workers

02/01/2003
Are HR professionals in tune with their employees’ wants and needs? Not exactly, suggests a survey of more than 1,000 employees and HR professionals by USA Today …

Whistle-blowers gain courage thanks to Time honor

02/01/2003
More than ever, it’s important to keep lines of communication open with employees and to make sure they can air grievances without fear of retaliation. Reason: …