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HR Management

Handbooks 101: 4 guidelines to follow, 5 policies to include

02/12/2009

Each year, new employment laws go on the books and courts write thousands upon thousands of decisions interpreting old laws. Yet, year after year, many HR professionals reach up onto a dusty shelf to hand new employees the same old employee handbook someone wrote years ago—too often without a second of consideration whether the contents still pass legal muster.

Preach zero tolerance for any harassment

02/12/2009

Employers are responsible if they know or have reason to know about a hostile work environment created by employees and do nothing to fix it. As a practical matter, what employers hear and see may be just the tip of the iceberg. Smart employers immediately attempt to get the whole picture and then correct the harassing behavior.

Remind supervisors to immediately report offensive graffiti, and then remove it

02/12/2009

Graffiti usually appears where the author is least likely to be caught creating it. Popular workplace spots are lavatories and work site portable toilets. And offensive graffiti can create an almost instantly hostile work environment. That’s why HR should remind supervisors to immediately report any graffiti—no matter where they find it.

Last-chance agreements put employers on sure footing

02/12/2009

If you offer last-chance agreements instead of immediately firing employees, you can impose seemingly draconian measures without worrying about a lawsuit. If you later terminate an employee for violating agreement terms, most courts will take your side.

Show you are serious about workplace safety

02/12/2009

You can and should punish employees who refuse to play by company safety rules. You’ll probably win any workplace injury case if you can show that the accident would never have occurred if the employee had followed the rules.

OSHA fines WBG Construction

02/12/2009

OSHA has fined WBG Construction, based in Wesley Chapel, for seven safety violations at two of the company’s locations. The agency said the violations exposed employees to potential injury or even death. The fines total $119,000.

Whistle-blower law insulates noncomplaining workers, too

02/12/2009

When two workers complained to two co-workers that their employer wasn’t providing protective gear while they installed insulation, it started a chain of events that led to their firings.

Judge says sewer worker’s firing doesn’t pass smell test

02/12/2009

An administrative law judge has ruled the township of Leoni violated the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Act (MIOSHA) when it terminated Benjamin Brzezinski for refusing to enter a sewer he felt was unsafe.

Stillwater schools settle age discrimination lawsuit

02/12/2009

The Stillwater School District has agreed to pay a part-time teacher and athletics coach $137,000 to settle age discrimination claims in a lawsuit filed by the EEOC.

Long-past lost training can’t make a lawsuit—for now

02/12/2009

Employees who long ago were denied training opportunities because of their race can’t wait decades to sue their employers for later lost promotion opportunities, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled.