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HR Management

Use seniority to assign tasks and take bias off the table

09/10/2008
Employees who sue for race and many other forms of discrimination must prove they were treated differently than a similarly situated co-worker who doesn’t belong to the same protected class. But when employers adopt and follow a seniority system to assign tasks, employees who try to claim discrimination have a tough time finding someone similarly situated to compare …

Don’t make handbook promises you’re not prepared to keep

09/10/2008
Drafting employee handbook language can be tricky. You don’t want the whole handbook to become a binding contract, but you do want employees to understand they have to follow the rules. But you may want some sections of the handbook to be binding—such as an agreement to arbitrate any employment disputes. So what’s the best approach? …

Muslim corrections officer keeps beard, gets fired, sues

09/10/2008
Abal Zaidi, a former corrections officer in Geneva, has sued the Kane County Sheriff’s Department, claiming he was fired for refusing to shave his beard …

Employ commercial drivers? They have special protection

09/10/2008
Commercial drivers are protected from retaliation if they refuse to operate their vehicles in violation of U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) safety rules that restrict the number of hours they may drive without resting. Firing or demoting someone for refusing to break those rules may be retaliation …

11 ways to liven up a boring meeting

09/09/2008
You are in charge of a committee at work that no one seems to care about. Meeting attendance is lackluster, and those who do come rarely speak up. How can you make people feel more engaged? Try these 11 easy-to-implement strategies.

The latest ADA disability-rights claim: I’m allergic to the Internet!

09/09/2008

The ADA requires employers to accommodate the disabilities of their employees and customers. We thought we’d heard about every kind of potential disability—until this one …

Governor proposes health care overhaul for state workers

09/09/2008
Gov. Tim Pawlenty recently released a set of proposals designed to make the state’s health care system “market-driven, patient-centered and quality-focused.” Pawlenty said the plan will “lead the nation in the development of portable personal health records and expanded consumer-directed health care spending accounts for state employees.” …

Issues to consider before monitoring e-mail

09/09/2008

Q. If we suspect an employee is violating a company policy prohibiting harassment, can we monitor the employee’s e-mails? …

HR Must Referee Employees’ McCain-Obama Debates: Know the Law

09/09/2008
John McCain and Barack Obama aren’t the only people embroiled in political debates this fall. So are some of your employees. And their water-cooler conversations may turn especially heated in the next few weeks. How HR handles political speech may spell the difference between workplace civility and civil war.

Take action to prevent customers from harassing employees

09/09/2008
Employees are entitled to work in a harassment-free environment—and that includes more than freedom from harassment by supervisors and co-workers. Employers also have to take reasonable steps to protect workers from harassment by customers, clients and others over which the employer has some control …