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Policies / Handbooks

Breaking no-alcohol rule may mean no jobless benefits

11/12/2008

If you have a zero-tolerance policy for employees drinking alcohol on duty, employees who are fired for breaking the rules may be denied unemployment compensation benefits—even if the employee wasn’t impaired enough to be criminally charged with drunken driving.

Workplace violence: Hope for the best but plan for the worst

11/12/2008

It’s important for employers to plan to prevent workplace violence and respond to it if prevention fails. While every employer needs a customized plan that fits its particular workplace, good violence-prevention strategies share common elements.

Illini faculty, staff rally for political rights

11/12/2008

In October, the University of Illinois released a statement informing students and faculty that a state ethics law bars state workers from political activities on campus. Students and faculty protested, claiming the university was trampling on their First Amendment rights.

Strange bedfellows in Cincinnati PD lawsuit

11/10/2008

Cincinnati Police Officers Keith Fangman and Paul Graves Jr. filed a class-action lawsuit challenging city rules they say prevented them from supporting their chosen presidential candidates.

Use the calendar-year method to tame the intermittent FMLA leave beast

11/10/2008

Employees who take intermittent leave can wreak havoc with work schedules. Because their conditions can flare up at any time, their absences are by nature unpredictable. But there are ways you can legally curtail intermittent leave. One way is to use the calendar-year method to set FMLA leave eligibility.

Is BlackBerry use compensable time?

11/10/2008

Q. We provide PDAs to virtually all our employees, some of whom are nonexempt. This enables them to send and respond to e-mails at all hours of the day and night. Does an employee’s time spent on his or her PDA outside of work count as hours worked?

Planning a holiday party? Make sure it’s off the clock … and alcohol-free

11/10/2008

December is the time for holiday parties. If you throw an employee bash that involves alcohol, make sure no one is on the clock or has to work on behalf of the organization. Better yet, don’t provide alcohol.

Call security! But don’t micromanage them

11/07/2008

If you hire a security company to help keep your workplace safe for customers and employees, make sure your supervisors don’t wind up providing specific direction to the guards the company assigns to your company. If you and your staff resist the temptation to control their every move and give them just general instructions, the security company and its guards remain independent contractors. That’s important for liability reasons.

Make it there, make it anywhere: Don’t let NYC’s tough bias rules beat you

11/07/2008

If you have employees or operations in New York City, your sexual harassment and discrimination policies must reflect the strict rules employers are required to follow under the New York City Human Rights Law. It all adds up to a challenging HR environment. Your best bet in New York City—adopt a zero-tolerance policy for any sort of sexual, racial or other harassment.

Can you legally search a worker’s locked desk?

11/04/2008

Employees may think of “their” desks as their own private domains—safe places to keep their own things literally under lock and key. However, employers do have the right to open that locked drawer. When the desk is in an open area shared with other employees, the employee with the key doesn’t have a reasonable expectation of privacy.