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Policies / Handbooks

Can we institute blanket ban on smoking on company property?

03/26/2009

Q. We run a carry-out/catering kitchen. Can we legally tell all our employees and customers that they can’t smoke on the property?

IRS, DOL release guidance on new COBRA rules

03/24/2009

The IRS and the U.S. Department of Labor have just published guidance to help employers claim the credit for the new 65% COBRA subsidy and create the mandatory new COBRA notices. Look here for links to the documents and information you need to comply.

DITO DITA … Do It To One. Do It To All

03/24/2009

Do you sometimes let employees bend company policy … just a little? It’s really no big deal, right? A new court ruling warns that if you start bending a policy for one, you’d better be ready to bend it for all. Being flexible can sometimes be fatal.

What counts as ‘full time’ under federal law?

03/24/2009

Q. We mostly have 40-hours-a-week employees, plus a couple of 20-hour part-timers. One part-timer asked me what constitutes “full time.” I think she wants to work the minimum and still receive benefits. Is there a set cutoff for full-time work under the federal overtime labor law?

What should we do in light of California’s new no-texting-while-driving law?

03/20/2009

Q. How does the new California law making it illegal to send and read text messages while driving affect employers?

When employees leave, so does company data

03/18/2009

More than half of employees who lost or left their jobs in 2008 took company data with them, according to a study conducted by Ponemon Institute and cyber-security software maker Symantec. A shocking 59% of respondents claimed they had copied or e-mailed company data.

Unions at your doorstep: The ABCs of EFCA … and how to respond

03/11/2009

Let the battle begin. On March 10, The Employee Free Choice Act, commonly referred to as the “card check” bill, was introduced in Congress. It’s the top legislative priority of labor unions. If passed, EFCA would streamline the process of union organizing, tilting it substantially in favor of workplace unionization. Union-free employers should consider acting now to keep their operations union-free. Here are the action steps to take today …

March Madness: Can a morale boost offset the productivity hit?

03/10/2009

As if computer solitaire wasn’t enough of a distraction for daydreaming office workers, March Madness is about to make working hard even harder. But that’s not all bad, according to one expert: The morale boost may make the NCAA tournament a good bet for employers. Here are some of the rules of the game for HR.

Preventing workplace violence in 5 steps

03/10/2009

There’s never been a better time to implement a violence prevention plan. Tough economic times sometimes cause people to snap—and they might do so at work. You need a prevention program that starts with employee screening and ends with publicizing your tough anti-violence policy.

Proactively stamp out racist behavior to cut liability for hostile environment

03/09/2009

When employees claim they were forced to work in a racially hostile environment, the law says they can go back far into the past to show a pattern of harassment. Taken together, isolated acts that wouldn’t be severe enough to create a hostile environment may create liability. But an employer doesn’t have to be a hostage to its past.