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HR Management

Incremental vacation time is legal, but not best option

09/01/2003

Q. We have salaried, exempt employees who take increments of vacation time (anywhere from one hour to seven hours at a time) instead of one full day. Is this legal? Or should they take only full-day vacation? —C.D., New Jersey

Deflect Cupid’s Arrow With Anti-Fraternization Policy

09/01/2003

Q. We have two employees who started a relationship. One is married. The wife of the married employee came to our facility and demanded to speak with the other woman. We didn’t permit them to speak on the premises. Do we have any potential for liability in a situation like this, especially if it escalates? Can we do anything to discourage employee romances or is this strictly off-limits? —C.R., California

Even ‘harmless’ banter can create a hostile environment

09/01/2003
Issue: A new ruling lowers the bar on what courts consider sexual harassment.
Risk: Allowing “boys to be boys”, even if they don’t target anyone for abuse, can now cost …

Don’t let ticked-off co-workers shoot the messenger (you)

09/01/2003
Issue: How to stay calm and collected while handling complaints from angry employees.
Benefit: Deflect anger without taking the blame … or adding stress to your day …

Ask on-Leave employees to tell you when they’ll return

09/01/2003

Q. Is it legal to require that employees on FMLA leave report to us regularly on their plans to return to work? —P.R., New York

Post all job openings in-House

09/01/2003

Q. We typically don’t post high-level management openings internally. Should we? —K.L., California

You can require mandatory overtime

09/01/2003

Q. A new employee has just informed his supervisor that he can’t work any overtime. Can we legally fire this person? —G.M., Virginia

Dump strict English-only policy; EEOC cracks down

09/01/2003
Issue: Requiring employees to speak English can be legally risky.
Risk: Overly broad or misguided policies can trigger a national-origin discrimination complaint …

Foster high-impact training on a low budget

09/01/2003
Surprising fact: Although U.S. companies spend billions on formal training programs, as much as 70 percent of all workplace learning takes place informally on the job and during shift changes, says …

Save on legal fees; watch for 7 common billing errors

09/01/2003
Issue: Invoices from outside attorneys can include expensive mistakes.
Risk: Lost money for the company, and lost credibility for you if someone else discovers the error …