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Policies / Handbooks

Nix the nicknames or ‘Grandma’ will get even

10/17/2008

Every workplace has managers who love to hand out nicknames to employees and co-workers. It’s all good fun until an employee in a protected class—age, sex, race, religion, disability, etc.—takes offense …

EEOC sues Mesaba Airlines over Sabbath rules

10/14/2008

The EEOC has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Laura Vallejos, a former customer service agent for Northwest Airlines’ subsidiary, Mesaba Airlines, based in Eagan. She claims she was fired for refusing to work past sundown on Fridays, the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath …

Macy’s resolves English-only incident at Edina store

10/14/2008

Macy’s has rescinded a manager’s ad hoc English-only rule after six employees at the company’s Southdale Mall store in Edina complained to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) of Minnesota. The workers said a manager allegedly threatened to fire them if they spoke “even one word” of Somali on the job …

Gold’n Plump, Muslim workers agree on religious accommodations

10/14/2008

After a year of negotiating and two EEOC lawsuits, Gold’n Plump Inc. of St. Cloud granted Muslim workers an extra 10-minute break for prayers and allowed them to refuse to work with pork products …

The changing face of the ADA: Complying with the new amendments

10/14/2008

On Jan. 1, 2009, the newly enacted ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) will go into effect. The law clarifies the ADA definition of disability and overturns certain U.S. Supreme Court decisions and EEOC regulations that narrowly interpreted the ADA …

Make it a policy: no texting & driving

10/14/2008

A California commuter train engineer may have been distracted by a text message seconds before he crashed into a freight locomotive in September, an accident that killed 25 passengers. The accident is a powerful reminder that employers must restrict texting (and talking on cell phones) while employees on duty drive vehicles or operate dangerous equipment.

Obesity discrimination is common — and against the law

10/10/2008

A recent study by Michigan State University and Hope College found that employers perceive overweight workers as lazier, more emotionally unstable and harder to get along with than their “normal weight” counterparts.

Back to work at Detroit City Hall . . . or not

10/10/2008

Detroit Auditor General Loren Monroe has recommended better oversight of the city’s operations in the wake of the resignation of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. In a memo to new Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr., Monroe called for implementing a detailed budget …

Are we allowed to do anything that limits political expression at work?

10/10/2008

Q. Some union employees are wearing buttons and T-shirts as well as posting signs advocating presidential candidates. At first it was not bothering anyone, but now it has gotten out of hand. Is there anything I can do to prevent employees from exhibiting their political views in the workplace? …

Termination for viewing child porn

10/08/2008

Q. Our company has a strict Internet-use policy. During the course of routine computer maintenance and observation, our third-party IT provider advised us that one of our employees had been viewing child pornography in violation of our policy. We immediately terminated that employee. Is there anything else we should do regarding this employee’s violation of our company’s policy? …