• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

HR Management

Calling the police isn’t retaliation, in this case.

05/01/2001
Alfredo Aviles refused to leave his work site after being suspended. He had to be escorted out by police. When Aviles was later spotted in a car near the entrance, a …

Confidentiality rules protect EAP counselors

05/01/2001
Employee assistance program (EAP) counselors are covered by the same privilege of confidentiality that’s granted to licensed psychotherapists, says the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. This is the first time …

ADA accommodation: Not a one-shot deal

05/01/2001
Some days Carolyn Humphrey tried from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. just to get ready for work. She would rinse her hair for up to an hour. If it didn’t “feel …

Consistent policy, smart response get you off the hook for retaliation

05/01/2001
Barbara von Gunten’s job as an environmental health aide forced her to spend most of the year in a two-person boat collecting water samples. She accused her boat mate of sexual …

Court gives green light to arbitration; but proceed with caution

05/01/2001
Don’t believe everything you’re hearing about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision supporting arbitration in employment contracts. True, it gives you more freedom to require employees to settle disputes via …

Dress code can differentiate among workers’ positions

05/01/2001

Q. Can we set a dress code policy that bars visible tattoos and multiple piercing on our receptionist but not other workers who have less public contact? —D.O., Maryland

Paying for holiday work can endanger exempt status

05/01/2001

Q. Our company policy says employees who work on holidays are paid time-and-a-half. If an exempt employee works on a holiday, can I pay him time-and-a-half? —R.E., Iowa

Even religious groups can’t favor employees based on religion

05/01/2001
Diane Roh worked her way up to director of nursing at a nursing home affiliated with the Church of Christ. She wanted to join a program that would train her for …

Keep age out of mix when deciding who gets education benefits

05/01/2001
Dan Esberg wanted to cash in on his company’s educational assistance program. The company paid Esberg $16,000 for his bachelor’s degree after he had turned 50. But when Esberg decided to …

‘Downtime’ pay: When to pay for travel, rest, on-call time

05/01/2001
It’s a deceptively simple concept: You have to pay nonexempt employees for every hour they work. But employers often trip over interpretation of that law when it comes to exceptions such …