Policies / Handbooks

‘Healthy Workplace’ winners eat well during meetings

03/16/2010

Winners of the Thurston County, Wash., Chamber of Commerce’s “Healthy Workplace” designation are serious about what their employees eat—especially during business meetings. Here are four examples of how Thurston County employers encourage their staffs to lay off the junk food while at work.

Lawsuit-proof hiring tactic: Develop a policy to post all jobs–and follow it

03/15/2010

Here’s one of the simplest ways to avoid failure-to-hire litigation: Adopt a uniform system for posting openings—and then stick with that system. If you do, employees won’t be able to claim later that they didn’t know about an opening and would have applied if only they knew. Plus, transparency protects you against claims you were trying to dissuade certain individuals from applying.

Sears finalizes record ADA settlement, worth $6.2 million

03/12/2010

A federal judge has approved a $6.2 million settlement agreement between Chicago-based retail giant Sears and the EEOC. The settlement comes after the commission determined last year that Sears’ policy of terminating disabled employees rather than negotiating reasonable accommodations violated the ADA.

Suspect sick leave abuse? Set strong policy to stamp it out–and allow legit FMLA leave

03/12/2010

Unplanned absences can disrupt even the best-run workplaces. Of course, you don’t want truly sick employees to come to work if they have some contagious illness. Nor do you want to discourage employees from taking legitimate FMLA leave. Your challenge as an employer: Craft and enforce an attendance policy that allows or even encourages legitimate sick leave use while discouraging abuse.

Put your attendance and tardiness policies in writing

03/11/2010

You naturally expect people to show up for work on time. But you could get into trouble if you don’t have a written policy saying so. Having written rules makes it more likely employees will understand your expectations.

At Akron’s Summa Health, where there’s smoke, there’s no hire

03/09/2010

Akron-based Summa Health Systems has announced it will no longer hire smokers. Applicants who wish to work at one of Summa’s six hospitals must provide a urine specimen to prove they are nicotine-free. Current employees are not affected by the new policy.

Are we allowed to prohibit moonlighting?

03/09/2010

Q. Is there any law against having a policy that prohibits my employees from working a second job?

Fire away if defiance follows discipline

03/05/2010

Some employees don’t respond well to corrective discipline. They may become angry and combative. You don’t have to put up with that sort of behavior. In fact, you can use that reaction as a valid termination reason.

Follow 4 keys to legally manage employee absenteeism

03/04/2010

The costs of employee absenteeism—reflected in lost production, overtime and temporary replacements for the absent worker—can add up quickly. What’s the best way to combat the problem? With a clear policy, careful documentation, consistent application of the policy and progressive discipline.

Cinderella! March Madness! The Big Dance! Bracketology!

03/02/2010

Once again it’s time for "March Madness." If your workplace is like many, talk of NCAA tournament picks and the Final Four will be everywhere, as well as bets on the games. While office pools are a lot of fun, they also can present some risk for employers. Consider having a written policy regarding workplace gambling to prevent things from getting out of control.