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HR Management

Transportation Companies Face New Drug-Testing Requirements, Starting on Aug. 25

08/12/2008
Starting Aug. 25, organizations that must comply with U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) drug-testing regulations face some new requirements. Specifically, drug testers must directly observe any follow-up urine tests. The goal: prevent employees from cheating the drug test.

6 Ways Workers Can Tell You’re Just Talking the Talk

08/12/2008
“Our People Are Our Greatest Assets.” It’s been one of the business world’s favorite clichés for decades. For just as long, it’s prompted eye rolling from the greatest assets themselves. Now a provocative BusinessWeek article takes HR to task for allowing talking the talk to stand in for walking the walk. Do any of these accusations sound familiar?

Take steps to ensure employees aren’t exposed to porn at work

08/11/2008
Perhaps because controlling Internet access to pornographic images isn’t technically difficult, and because word tends to get around pretty quickly if a co-worker is showing porn to co-workers, courts now are clamping down more on employers that don’t do enough to make sure the workplace is not a sexual cesspool …

Judge upholds gun law as companies duck and cover

08/11/2008
Florida employees may keep guns locked in their cars at work, but customers do not have the same right, Tallahassee U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled in July. Hinkle upheld most of Florida’s new “guns at work” law, which went into effect July 1, but said it is so poorly written that it’s “stupid.” 

Workers’ comp may cover injury that occurs on vacation

08/11/2008
If you require certain employees to stay in good physical shape and pass regular fitness tests, a recent court ruling raises this key question: Could your organization be on the hook for workers’ compensation bneefits if the employee gets hurt while working out during a vacation?

What’s an employer’s responsibility to provide notification of a data security breach?

08/08/2008
Q. We maintain employee personnel information in an HR software program. We have discovered that a former employee hacked into the database and copied 100 employees’ first and last names, addresses, Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers. Do we have to notify the employees? Some of them live and work in Ohio …

Act fast to investigate, correct hostile work environment signs

08/08/2008
It’s not unusual to read about racially motivated incidents that occur at work. Slurs, graffiti and other acts of intimidation can lead to hostile environment lawsuits. By the time the graffiti shows up or the slurs are uttered, some of the damage has already been done. However, smart employers react immediately and try to limit the damage …

‘You Won’t Work Sundays?!’ EEOC Offers Guidance on Religious Accommodations

08/06/2008
The EEOC recently released guidance to help employers avoid religious discrimination charges. Distilled from the law, regulations and court decisions, the guidance offers both a list of frequently asked questions about religious discrimination and accommodation and a list of best practices. You can download free copies of each here.

You’re justified in firing employee you reasonably believe committed ‘Leave fraud’

08/06/2008
Here’s a surprisingly common situation that presents what looks like a no-win situation for employers: A worker with a high-pressure job and a heavy workload asks for FMLA and short-term disability leave for various minor health problems. The company approves the leave, expecting the employee back after 12 weeks …

Gather statistical evidence to show you don’t discriminate

08/05/2008
Employees who can show that a company routinely discriminates against members of a particular protected class will have a much easier time showing that, as members of that class, they were discriminated against, too. Perform your own statistical analyses to test your hiring practices for hidden discrimination …