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

HR Management

Is this asking for trouble? Our sick policy requires a doctor’s note containing a diagnosis

10/18/2012
Q. Our policy states employees must provide a doctor’s note if they take sick leave of three or more days. Are we violating any laws by demanding the doctor’s note, which includes a diagnosis?

‘Flex’ benefits business, not just employees

10/16/2012
Flex is becoming as coveted by businesses as it is by employees. Organizations, it seems, need as much flexibility when it comes to staffing as employees do when it comes to balancing work with personal commitments. Here are seven ways your organi­zation can benefit as much as its employees do from offering time-and-place flexibility.

Beat retaliation suit with good HR records

10/15/2012

Employees who suspect they are facing discipline sometimes think they can stop the process by complaining about some form of alleged discrimination. At the very least, they reason, they can claim they suffered retaliation for reporting discrimination. Smart employers keep careful rec­­ords showing the internal timeline for all employment decisions.

Half of firms delaying decisions until after election

10/15/2012
Is your organization putting off major decisions—whether to add or reduce staff, make a major investment, etc.—until after the Nov. 6 election? If so, you’re not alone.

How long should an agency investigation take?

10/12/2012

Q. A discrimination charge was filed against my company almost two years ago. We responded to the charge and provided the requested information. We haven’t heard anything for more than 18 months. My boss is worried and wants the process over with. Should I try to find out what’s going on, or just leave it alone?

How should I handle a rude investigator?

10/12/2012

Q. I’m dealing with an enforcement agency investigator who is really rude. She accuses me of hiding information, threatens to subpoena information and says things like, “I know all about your company and how it treats minorities.” She’s been calling my managers at home and demanding that they answer questions. What do I do? Am I going to make things worse if I complain about her behavior?

Should we take up the EEOC on its offer to mediate a complaint?

10/12/2012
Q. The EEOC wants us to participate in mediation. Should we? If we don’t, will it make the investigator think we’re trying to hide something?

What’s going on? It seems like we’re being investigated twice for bias

10/12/2012
Q. We received a charge from the EEOC and we’re dealing with it. Now we’ve received correspondence from the state equal opportunity agency, too. What’s up? Are we going to be investigated twice?

What to do when enforcement agencies come knocking

10/12/2012

The federal government, most states and some municipalities all have agencies charged with enforcing employment laws. Employers are most likely to have contact with agencies that enforce anti-discrimination laws. How you deal with those enforcement agencies when discrimination charges surface matters a lot.

Is your cube becoming a cage? 6 tips to put the ‘human’ back in HR

10/12/2012
Getting out on the shop floor or into the breakroom could counter employee attitudes that link HR only with bad news and being disconnected from employees. Here are six tips to help raise HR’s visibility.