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Policies / Handbooks

Violating any work rule can be just cause for termination

08/22/2008
Under N.C. General Statute § 126-35, North Carolina state government employees can be discharged only for “just cause,” a term the statute doesn’t clearly define. The vague language can make it difficult to terminate a state employee. But that’s not the case if a state agency has a clear set of rules, can show the employee knew about those rules and broke them anyway …

Stubble trouble: Can you fire unshaven employees?

08/21/2008
Do any of your employees look like they’ve just crawled out of a suitcase? A court recently addressed this question: If an employee is fired for ignoring his boss’s demands to get a shave, does that count as “misconduct” that disqualifies him from unemployment benefits? …

Employee handbooks: Are they mandatory?

08/21/2008
Q. I just joined a new company that’s never had an employee handbook and doesn’t seem interested in doing so.  Do we have to create one? — K.D., Colorado …

5 Steps for Communicating Benefits Changes

08/19/2008

As your organization shifts more responsibility to employees to manage their own health and retirement expenses, you risk alienating your work force. But it doesn’t have to be that way …

‘Razor-Free Fridays’ help cut water use

08/19/2008
The Georgia Department of Agriculture is encouraging employees to skip their morning shaves on casual Fridays to help alleviate drought conditions gripping much of the state …

Work Marathon Interrupted by Olympics Online

08/19/2008
The Games of the XXIX Olympiad are in full swing, and that means a certain number of your employees are watching on the web. According to a CareerBuilder.com survey, 12% of workers say they plan to watch some of the Beijing Olympics at work. Should you crack down … or see what life lessons the Games can offer?

Breaks required—But forcing employees to take them isn’t

08/15/2008
In what may end up being a landmark decision, a California Court of Appeal has held that Golden State employers aren’t required to ensure employees actually take meal and rest breaks. Employers are in the clear as long as they permit breaks and do not prevent or discourage employees from taking them …

What are our responsibilities concerning breastfeeding in the workplace?

08/15/2008

Q. A number of our employees are pregnant. What are our obligations to accommodate their need to breastfeed when they return to work? …

Ensure handbook doesn’t make FMLA promises you can’t keep

08/13/2008
An Indiana employer must now respond to charges it misled employees when it promised FMLA benefits in its handbook, even though the company is too small to be covered by the FMLA. The case, recently decided by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, shows the problems that arise when employers promise more than they are willing to deliver in their employee handbooks …

Not to split hairs, you can’t sell Harleys looking like that

08/12/2008
Craig Berg joined Apol’s Harley-Davidson of Alexandria as a salesman in May 2006. During his tenure of less than a year, Berg received at least 10 warnings from supervisor Thomas Brenden about his appearance. Brenden objected to Berg’s facial hair, which he shaved every few days. “If you want to grow a beard, grow a beard,” Brenden told him. “If you don’t want to grow a beard, then shave.” …