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HR Management

Switching from traditional leave to PTO? 7 questions to ask

06/29/2011
As you manage the scheduling head­­aches that come with summer vacations, it may be time to entirely reconsider how you handle employee leave. One option: Switch from a traditional time-off program to a paid time off (PTO) bank. Before you make the switch, you’ll ask some basic questions:

How does New Jersey law protect whistle-blowers?

06/28/2011
Q. What are our obligations to inform employees of their rights against retaliation if they report wrongdoing at work?

E is for Evidence: The HR Risks of Smoking-Gun Employee Emails

06/28/2011

Your employees may know how to physically send an email message. But have you ever taught them what should—and, more importantly, should not—be included in email? “The ‘e’ in email stands for eternal evidence and it doesn’t go away,” said attorney Mindy Chapman, author of the HR Specialist’s Case in Point blog, at this week’s Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) conference in Las Vegas…

Face-to-face counseling helps employees grasp benefits

06/27/2011
On average, 30% to 40% of an employee’s total compensation is wrapped up in benefits. Unfortunately, that information is often invisible to employees. The most effective way to make sure employees really know about the benefits you offer, their value and why they’re a great deal is to tell them face-to-face.

Violating your e-policies can be a federal crime

06/24/2011

If you’re worried that an employee or ex-employee will break into your computer network and damage the company, a new court ruling gives you more teeth to enforce your policy. And it gives employees something to think about before they commit e-sabotage.

Want to catch harassment? Go looking for it

06/23/2011
More than a decade after the U.S. Supreme Court decided its biggest sexual harassment and hostile work-environment cases, women are still filing and winning sexual harassment lawsuits. Many of them could easily have been prevented had HR and upper-level management taken regular, surprise walks through the factory floor and other work areas.

Intoxicated and driving during working hours: How should our policy address this problem?

06/23/2011
Q. When an employee was recently injured on the job, a co-worker drove him to the hospital. On the way back to work, they were in a car accident and both employees tested positive for illegal substances. What should we consider when developing a policy to prevent this kind of thing from occurring in the future?

Must we comply with subpoena for worker’s file?

06/23/2011
Q. We recently received a subpoena to produce the contents of an employee’s personnel file in connection with a federal lawsuit. The employee is a party to the lawsuit, but the company is not. Do we have to comply with the subpoena? Should we tell the employee about the subpoena?

Keep it clean (and sober)! Ensure drug testing is uniform and fair

06/23/2011
When you offer employees a chance for drug or alcohol treatment and rehabilitation, make sure you treat them fairly. There’s nothing wrong with telling recovering employees they may be randomly tested for drugs or alcohol without notice. You can even use a “lottery” system that results in some employees being tested more often than others.

5 simple ways to tune up your inbox

06/23/2011
Email is a source of productivity, but it can also become an out-of-control monster. If you’re in search of the magic bullet to make it easier to archive email—and later find what you need—here are five tips to tune up your inbox: