Privacy

Don’t require staff to give emergency contact info

03/01/2006

Q. We’re cleaning up our personnel files and updating emergency contact information. Some employees don’t want to provide their contact information. Is it legal for us to require them to give it to us? —S.S., California

Set a clear policy on confidential talks with employees

02/01/2006

Should you guarantee employees confidentiality when they voice complaints to you or to supervisors? Blanket promises of confidentiality could blow up in your face; some laws require you to report illegal or unethical conduct …

Asking for Test Results Is OK if a ‘Business Necessity’

01/01/2006

The ADA prohibits you from seeking medical information simply to find out if the person has a disability. You can, however, seek such details to discover whether a person is medically fit to perform the job duties. Don’t shy away from every medical inquiry; just make sure it’s based on a legitimate business necessity …

Do you need a blog policy? Ask yourself 3 questions

11/01/2005

Employment policies often must adapt to changes in culture and technology, and the explosion of blogs is one such example. Disgruntled employees often use their blogs to attacks employers, spread gossip about co-workers or even publish suggestive pictures of themselves. Ask yourself the following questions to see if you need a blog policy …

What to include in a camera-Phone policy

09/01/2005

Q. I’m looking to create a company policy regarding cell phones with photographic capabilities. Any suggestions? —L.B., California

HIPAA Rules Aren’t Just For Doctors and Hospitals

08/01/2005

Q. I’d like to know if our company needs something like a HIPAA form for employees to sign when we release personal information to others. Is HIPAA only for the medical field? —B.B., New York

Keep staff vacation schedules away from public view

07/01/2005

With summer-vacation season here, you may be tracking employees’ comings and goings using schedules posted on a bulletin board or online. But not everyone thinks so highly of publicly posted …

Tighten policy to foil new identity-theft risks

06/01/2005

If your organization hasn’t taken identity theft seriously, here are two good reasons to start now: Starting June 1, federal law requires you to properly dispose
of employee background-check information …

Post vacation schedules only for employee viewing

06/01/2005

Issue: To assist in planning, organizations often post employee vacation schedules, especially during summer.
Risk: Some employees may protest, saying it’s an invasion of privacy that makes their house more …

Hair samples are a legitimate method of drug tests.

03/01/2005

A police department ordered one if its officers to provide a hair sample for a drug test after it suspected him of using cocaine. The test, which involved shaving a patch …