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HR Management

Small public firms must comply with Sarbanes-Oxley, SEC says

07/01/2006

Here’s some bad news for public companies: The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it won’t exempt smaller public companies from the anti-fraud provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act …

Heed legal limits of video monitoring in the workplace

07/01/2006

Monitoring employees with video cameras likely won’t violate employees’ privacy rights, but employers should make sure they don’t step over the line of reasonable privacy concerns. Stay in the legal zone by monitoring only public areas of the workplace, and use soundless recording …

Retention: If you want to keep them, let them go

07/01/2006

You’ve probably had great employees quit because they wanted to try their hand at a radically different career. Here’s a way to let employees "test drive" a career and still keep them on staff …

Silence talk of employee health info; loose lips sink HR

07/01/2006

You know to keep employees’ health records confidential and locked away. Yet some HR professionals and supervisors aren’t so cautious when it comes to in-house talk of health information. Use the following court case to remind supervisors about the legal dangers of such gossip …

Feds Clarify Handling of ‘No-Match’ Letters, Electronic I-9s

07/01/2006

Pay attention to a pair of new regulations released in June that aim to help you comply with the laws relating to checking new hires’ work authorization documents. The first proposed Department of Homeland Security regulation sets forth guidance on how employers should handle so-called "no-match" letters that notify employers of discrepancies with new hires’ Social Security numbers …

At job review, take notes on employee’s comments

07/01/2006

DuPont engineer Godwin Igwe filed a discrimination lawsuit, claiming the company denied him bonuses and promotions because of his national origin. But DuPont successfully defended the suit because its records showed that Igwe said he understood and accepted his demotion because of funding cuts in his department …

Identity theft: How far must you go to protect workers’ data?

07/01/2006

The federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) of 2003 says businesses that negligently or purposely allow employees’ or customers’ personally identifiable data to fall into the wrong hands can face fines of up to $2,500 per infraction …

‘Pizza snub’ doesn’t equal religious bias

07/01/2006

A boss bought pepperoni pizza for all employees one day, but a Muslim employee felt slighted because, she said, the boss knew of her religious beliefs about eating pork …

Consistency Erases Risk of Light-Duty Jobs

07/01/2006

Employers who use light-duty programs to cut workers’ compensation costs often make one big legal mistake: They apply their policies haphazardly, allowing some employees to take light-duty jobs, but not others. That inconsistency is the fastest way to trigger discrimination lawsuits …

Employees’ Seniority Trumps Disabled Co-Workers’ ADA Rights

07/01/2006

If you award first choice of promotions, shifts, vacation slots and other perks based on employees’ seniority, you’ll face a dilemma if a disabled employee requests an ADA accommodation that conflicts with that policy …