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HR Management

Lawsuit-proof hiring tactic: Develop a policy to post all jobs–and follow it

03/15/2010

Here’s one of the simplest ways to avoid failure-to-hire litigation: Adopt a uniform system for posting openings—and then stick with that system. If you do, employees won’t be able to claim later that they didn’t know about an opening and would have applied if only they knew. Plus, transparency protects you against claims you were trying to dissuade certain individuals from applying.

Sears finalizes record ADA settlement, worth $6.2 million

03/12/2010

A federal judge has approved a $6.2 million settlement agreement between Chicago-based retail giant Sears and the EEOC. The settlement comes after the commission determined last year that Sears’ policy of terminating disabled employees rather than negotiating reasonable accommodations violated the ADA.

Suspect sick leave abuse? Set strong policy to stamp it out–and allow legit FMLA leave

03/12/2010

Unplanned absences can disrupt even the best-run workplaces. Of course, you don’t want truly sick employees to come to work if they have some contagious illness. Nor do you want to discourage employees from taking legitimate FMLA leave. Your challenge as an employer: Craft and enforce an attendance policy that allows or even encourages legitimate sick leave use while discouraging abuse.

Rehiring ex-employees? Beware these 6 common slip-ups

03/11/2010
As the economy rebounds, you may be looking closely at ex-employees who departed on good terms. Here are six common rehiring mistakes.

Offer flex schedules to low-wage workers, too

03/11/2010

Plenty of organizations offer flexible schedules, allow telework and let parents slip out early once in a while to catch a child’s soccer game. But in many workplaces, those benefits are perks that only managers and white-collar workers enjoy. Yet several studies show that when low-wage employees have some flexibility in their hours, teamwork improves and unscheduled absences abate. If your organization’s lower-wage employees are candidates for flex, consider these eight strategies.

Worker wants to alter a discipline note she saw in her personnel file—Now what?

03/11/2010

Q. An employee asked to review her personnel file, and we let her. Now she wants us to change a discipline notice she found in the file. We don’t have to do that, do we?

Put your attendance and tardiness policies in writing

03/11/2010

You naturally expect people to show up for work on time. But you could get into trouble if you don’t have a written policy saying so. Having written rules makes it more likely employees will understand your expectations.

11th Circuit topples hurricane-proof crane standards

03/11/2010

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Miami-Dade County’s ordinance requiring construction cranes to be able to withstand 140 mph winds is invalid. Construction firms had challenged the law, arguing that it would cost jobs, hinder workplace safety and was beyond the county’s (or the state’s) ability to regulate compliance.

Miami-Dade, vendor settle—and whistle-blower gets $1.25M

03/11/2010

Miami-Dade County has agreed to settle a long-running legal dispute with the Wackenhut security firm, and one of the biggest winners is a Wackenhut worker who blew the whistle on the company. The battle began in 2005 when Michelle Trimble accused her employer of billing the county for 300 hours of work a week that no one was performing. The alleged overbilling amounted to $4.5 million per year.

At Akron’s Summa Health, where there’s smoke, there’s no hire

03/09/2010

Akron-based Summa Health Systems has announced it will no longer hire smokers. Applicants who wish to work at one of Summa’s six hospitals must provide a urine specimen to prove they are nicotine-free. Current employees are not affected by the new policy.