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HR Management

Keeping confidential info secret: Lessons from the Wal-Mart leak

12/01/2005

Wal-Mart execs were wearing egg on their faces last month, and possibly facing legal action, after news media published an internal memo in which a senior VP suggested "clever" ways to cut benefit costs …

Set clear rules on employee credit card use

12/01/2005

Q. I work for a nonprofit agency, and we plan to start using an agency credit card. But we also need a policy that covers who can use the card and when, plus some other things I haven’t thought of yet. What should the policy include? —M.M., Pennsylvania

Cell-Phone Policies: Be Safe, Not Sorry

12/01/2005

Q. We’re considering giving cell phones to our field employees, rather than desk phones. What kind of policies should we have in place for personal cell calls on those phones? —J.B., Florida

Hiring relatives is legal, but keep them separated

12/01/2005

Q. Are there any legal restrictions on whether we can interview and hire a relative of one of our current employees? —J.D., North Carolina

Holiday bonuses are out; performance pay is in

12/01/2005
Holiday bonuses are becoming less of a holiday tradition, as 59 percent of employers won’t award them this year, says a new Hewitt Associates survey. “Employers recognize that the value in …

Encourage use of generic drugs by waiving co-pay

12/01/2005
To persuade employees to switch from expensive brand-name prescription drugs to generics, some employers are eliminating co-payments for generic drugs. Others are waiving the first two or three months of generic …

‘Customer preference’ is no reason for discriminatory hiring choices

12/01/2005
Make sure your hiring managers understand that customer preference should play no part in their hiring decisions. Applicants’ race, age, sex or religion …

When is employee insubordination protected?

12/01/2005
Issue: If an employee believes a boss’s order is illegal, she can refuse to do it. And you can’t punish her for that defiance.
Risk: You could run afoul of …

Look into all bias complaints; even ‘nontargets’ can sue

12/01/2005
Issue: Employees who are negatively affected by workplace discrimination can file lawsuits, even if they aren’t the targets.
Risk: The EEOC is encouraging such whistle-blower suits, which opens a new …

Learn to spot staff plotting to become competitors

11/01/2005
You may already require key employees to sign noncompete agreements and/or no-moonlighting policies. But even the best of those “paper handcuffs” can’t bring your business back if a defecting employee is determined to compete against you.