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

HR Management

Work with your attorney to preserve evidence

04/14/2011

These days, much of the evidence used in employment litigation is electronic—such as attendance records. Courts require employers to preserve such evidence when employers reasonably know that a lawsuit could arise. If evidence is destroyed, courts can impose heavy financial sanctions and even hand a win to the other side without a trial.

The best reason to retain personnel documents: Employees–and courts–have long memories

04/14/2011
Employees are often only too happy to go back years to come up with circumstantial evidence that their employers are biased, citing incidents that on their own could not be the basis for a lawsuit.

U.S. trails the world on paid maternity leave

04/14/2011
You can count the number of nations lacking a definitive law providing paid maternity leave on one hand—and still have two fingers left over. Guess what. One is the United States. That’s what Human Rights Watch found when it studied family leave practices worldwide.

How to ensure your employee handbook supports FMLA compliance

04/12/2011
Employers are free to develop their own policies, but many laws have an absolute mandate—you must ensure employees receive proper notice of your policies. That’s why the FMLA section of your handbook is so important. Here’s your roadmap to full compliance with the FMLA’s notification requirements.

Should you ban bosses from ‘friending’ staff?

04/12/2011
With more than 500 million Facebook users in the world—and each one having an average of 130 “friends”—workplaces are confronting the issue of online linking between supervisors and subordinates. Given the risks, many employers have chosen to adopt social media policies that set clear guidelines for employees and managers—including prohibitions or limitations on “friending” between bosses and their employees.

Hire education: A step-by-step guide to legally safe hiring practices

04/08/2011
Employers operate in an increasingly complex legal environment, made all the more difficult by the tough economy. Hiring has emerged as a particular trouble spot. Here are the key liability hot spots you must watch out for in the hiring process:

Address domestic violence with benefits

04/06/2011

It might feel uncomfortable to try to help an employee who might be a victim of domestic violence. But you could be saving lives if you encourage supervisors and co-workers to do so. A proactive decision to provide support to domestic-violence victims not only protects them—it also protects companies’ bottom lines.

Cast your vote in the Final Four of HR Headaches!

04/05/2011
The NCAA basketball tournament may be done, but the “Final Four Biggest Workplace Headaches for 2011” competition continues. Read up on four of the most vexing HR problems, and then cast your vote for the winner—the one that makes your work life miserable.

NLRB ruling revisited: Can employees really trash you on Facebook?

04/05/2011
Don’t read too much into the NLRB’s recent “Facebook rant” ruling. Despite much employer hand-wringing, the decision didn’t give employees a free pass on social media posts. They still don’t have license to defame, disparage or otherwise trash their company, management, product or co-workers. Here’s why.

Hey, boss, you’d better call HR! Warn managers: Don’t fix complaints informally

04/05/2011

When supervisors hear someone complaining about sexual or other harassment, they may be tempted to blow it off as a distraction or tell the co-workers involved to stop it. That’s not good enough. To prevent a successful employee lawsuit, you must impress on first-line supervisors and managers that it’s their responsibility to report any sexual harassment complaint to HR or other appropriate company official.