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HR Management

Retain benefit eligibility after FMLA leave

08/01/2005

Q. We understand that employees on FMLA leave don’t lose investment toward retirement plans. Leave time is counted as work time. But our policy says that if employees are out for more than 30 days, their anniversary dates will change. Accrued paid-time off and vacation time will be based on the new anniversary date. Can we do this? —K.A., Connecticut

Break into vacation-Leave bank if sick leave is empty

08/01/2005

Q. If an employee is out sick but has already used up her sick-leave hours, can we legally subtract from her vacation time instead? —K.P., Michigan

Shape your in-house image by creating an HR ‘brand’

08/01/2005
Issue: Take control of your department’s image by creating a consistent internal marketing message.
Benefit: When done well, such branding raises your profile with execs and the rank and file, …

Raise campus visibility to attract better grads, interns

08/01/2005
Issue: Becoming more involved in a local college’s career programs, beyond attending job fairs and posting openings.
Risk: Your organization can morph itself into an employer of choice for interns …

Prevent retaliation: Urge managers to keep cool in face of a lawsuit

08/01/2005
When an employee makes noise about discrimination, it’s natural to become defensive. It hurts to be accused of
breaking the law, especially if it isn’t true. But don’t let a …

Courts look at how you train, not just if

08/01/2005
Hopefully, reading about multimillion-dollar lawsuit verdicts has motivated you to implement anti-harassment and discrimination employee training. But how good is the training you’re giving? It’s a question worth asking.
Reason: …

2005 SHRM conference

08/01/2005
?’Winging it’ during interviews poses double danger
Using unstructured, “tell me about yourself” questions during
job interviews not only opens you to discrimination claims, it often results in poor …

Check state law before firing victim of a stalker

07/01/2005

Q. One of our female employees says her ex-boyfriend is stalking her. She hasn’t been able to get a restraining order against him. We’re worried that he may show up and do her or other workers harm. Can we fire or suspend her? —B.L., Florida

Don’t base hiring decisions on applicants’ childbirth plans

07/01/2005
Issue: Who qualifies for protection under the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)?
Risk: Many supervisors mistakenly believe that women must be pregnant to be covered under PDA. Not true.
…

Can you (and should you) refuse to hire smokers? Know the law

07/01/2005
Some of your employees may be a month into their New Year’s resolution to quit smoking. But what if you, as an organization, wanted to kick the habit in a different way—by refusing to hire employees that smoke?