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HR Management

11 tips to help dads balance work and family

07/14/2011

Work/life issues are no longer women’s domain. Surveys by the Boston College Cen­ter for Work & Family and World­at­Work agree that men are struggling to balance the need to both care for their families and work to support them. Here are 11 recommendations from the surveys’ authors:

Will we get in trouble for disciplining an employee for disparaging Facebook postings?

07/13/2011
Q. An employee has posted some very unflattering things about the company on her Facebook page. Is there anything we need to consider before taking disciplinary action against her?

Promote harmony, prevent hostile environment by adding civility policy to your handbook

07/13/2011
Few reasonable employees like working in an unpleasant environment where co-workers call each other names and generally treat each other with disrespect. They may, however, ignore such conduct to avoid rocking the boat. But supervisors who don’t put a stop to it risk a hostile environment lawsuit. That’s why you should consider adopting a civility policy that demands employees treat each other with respect and bans insults and other boorish behavior.

Key to beating lawsuit: Belief worker broke rule

07/13/2011
Employers that can show they fired an employee for violating a company policy will generally win any subsequent lawsuit—if they can show they reasonably believed that’s what happened. It doesn’t matter if later it turns out the employer was wrong.

What’s this new technology designed to help employees track their hours worked?

07/13/2011
Q. I heard something about a new wage-and-hour smartphone app that the Department of Labor has announced. What does it mean for our company?

Check your web policies: NLRB looks at employee Facebook posts

07/13/2011
Facebook and other social net­working web sites are signifi­cantly changing the way people com­mu­ni­cate—and that communication isn’t always merely personal. Em­ployees sometimes post comments criticizing their jobs and employers. Tempting though it may be, think twice before punishing employees for online behavior that you think maligns your organization.

FMLA policy: How do I draft it if few are eligible?

07/13/2011
Q. Our company has 250 employees in eight states, but we have FMLA eligible employees in only one state. As I rewrite our employee handbook, I will include the mandatory FMLA language. However, I would like some input on what type of policy, if any, to include for non-FMLA eligible employees.

The cure for FMLA pains … a Cancun vacation?

07/08/2011
Ever wonder if your employees out on FMLA leave are really sitting on a beach sipping a drink with a little umbrella in it? If you think employees are violating your policies, what can you do? One court ruled last month that you can fire such an employee … but first make sure you have the right policies in place.

Got off-site workers? Heed these 6 important legal risks

07/07/2011
Beyond choosing the right positions for telework, employers must address important legal issues before adopting a telecommuting policy. Be prepared to consider how such a policy will be affected by the Fair Labor Stand­­ards Act, OSHA, the ADA, workers’ compensation rules, privacy concerns and tax laws.

Sued for bias? Prepare to hand over personnel files

07/06/2011
Personnel records contain information that’s prime material in any employment discrimination lawsuit. An employee who alleges discrimination is entitled to see how she compares with other similarly situated employees, and can do that by reviewing relevant personnel files.