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Policies / Handbooks

Universities ban caste bias; a lawsuit follows

12/13/2022
Brown University has added caste discrimination to its nondiscrimination list, joining other universities that now include caste among protected categories such as race, religion, sex and gender identity.

Guns in the workplace? Watch the Supreme Court

12/06/2022
A new nightmare for employers is the issue of guns in the workplace. The Supreme Court has held its fire for now, but perhaps not for long.

Your handbook could get you sued

11/17/2022
Common handbook rules require honesty on a job application and prior approval before taking on a second job, as well as proof that any second job wouldn’t interfere with the first one. That way, you may assume you can fire a worker who lied on their application or whose moonlighting would conflict with the day job. Unfortunately, each of these handbook rules could backfire if used to justify a demotion or termination.

Draft your executive contingency plan

11/17/2022
We live in a culture where easy access to social media networks means a single indiscretion can become common knowledge in a few hours or even minutes. For employers, this can mean being forced to react to bad publicity almost immediately. That’s one reason every employer should have a contingency plan for not just responding but also for instant, pre-authorized action.

Court orders rehiring of unvaxxed workers

11/08/2022
Some employers are bracing for a rough flu/covid season. But should you insist that your employees vaccinate against them? That depends.

Kroger needed a policy for a rainy day

11/08/2022
Kroger has settled a religious bias claim for $180,000. Two religious employees in Arkansas refused to wear the grocery chain’s rainbow heart logo on their aprons because they claimed the rainbow represented support for LGBTQ people and politics, which they opposed on religious grounds.

Sexual harassment: This employer did everything right

10/26/2022
Fortunately for the defendant-employer in this case, it had an effective policy and made it available to employees (including the plaintiffs) in various ways.

Policy can end pay for unused vacation days

10/25/2022
You cannot withhold unused vacation pay, but there’s a way to get employees to forfeit unused vacation days.

One job at a time, please

10/25/2022
Moonlighting, or working a second job, has always existed as a feature of the after-hours workplace. But computers and remote work have brought the temptation to work two or even three jobs into the daylight.

Smile! Your business is on TikTok!

10/25/2022
In an age when virtually every aspect of our lives is potentially captured on camera, employees uploading videos from the office was inevitable, especially if they belong to the “social media generation.” Your policies must encompass these infractions.