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HR Management

Clarify if (and when) employees can drive company car for personal use

06/01/2006

Don’t leave any wiggle room in your policies regarding when employees can use company vehicles for personal use. Make those policies clear and precise. If you don’t provide understandable direction to employees, a court could interpret that as implied consent …

Weed out costly workers’ comp classification errors

06/01/2006

Insurers incorrectly calculate workers’ compensation premiums for 30 to 40 percent of employers. You can help slash premium costs, and become a hero to your CEO, by knowing what mistakes to look for …

On-Site RN Saves Time, Expense

06/01/2006

SRA International Inc. in Fairfax, Va., provides an on-site RN whom employees and their families may visit or call with all kinds of medical and wellness issues …

Clarify the essential functions before rejecting accommodation bid

05/01/2006

You can reject a disabled employee’s accommodation request (or refuse to hire a person) if the individual isn’t able to perform the "essential functions" of the job, even with an accommodation. But many ADA failure-to-accommodate lawsuits hinge on which tasks are considered essential …

FMLA users can shop around for favorable medical opinion

05/01/2006

When an employee shows you a medical certification that says she has a serious condition qualifying her for FMLA leave, you don’t have to blindly accept the doctor’s word. You can ask for a second opinion. But here’s what many employers don’t realize: Employees can do the same thing …

Check your ‘ethical pulse’: 4 indicators of a bad decision

05/01/2006

Before you act on a hastily made decision, ask these questions to see if it passes ethical muster.

4 employment law lessons from the courts

05/01/2006
Supervisors can learn a lot from others’ mistakes, particularly when it comes to employment law issues. Here are four recent court decisions that provide lessons on how supervisors can keep their organizations (and themselves) out of legal hot water.

Use online tests to find best customer service staff

05/01/2006

Because customer service employees are on your front lines every day, don’t just rely on a résumé and a good first impression to choose such vital personnel. New low-cost online tests can help you determine who has the right stuff …

Loss of supporting documents needn’t sink your defense

05/01/2006

What’s a smart HR professional to do when his or her employer is sued and the records you thought would back up management are gone? You can still save the day by locating different electronic or paper correspondence that supports your decisions …

Illegal immigrants now hold 1 of every 20 U.S. jobs

05/01/2006

Undocumented immigrants make up almost 5 percent of the U.S. work force, and about 850,000 illegal immigrants arrive each year, according to a new Pew Hispanic Center study …