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Policies / Handbooks

Is it insubordination to call in sick after being turned down for leave?

01/01/2008

Q. During the busiest period of the year, a veteran employee asked for time off to attend her nephew’s graduation. After being turned down, she called in sick on graduation day. Is this considered insubordination? And how should we handle this situation? …

Grocery clerk stops shoplifter, loses job for breaking rule

01/01/2008

File this one under “no good deed goes unpunished.” Michigan grocery clerk John Schultz says he lost his job after trying to thwart the getaway of an alleged shoplifter. The firing offense? Touching a customer …

Workplace bullying emerges as new employment law issue

01/01/2008

While workplace bullying certainly has existed for as long as mean people have worked alongside others, only recently has it emerged as an issue for the courts to handle. As awareness of “workplace bullying” arises, so does potential litigation and liability for employers …

IRS Revenue Ruling 87-41

12/30/2007
Rev. Rul. 87-41 1987-1 C.B. 296. Internal Revenue Service Revenue Ruling EMPLOYMENT STATUS UNDER SECTION 530(D) OF THE REVENUE ACT OF 1978 Published: 1987 Section 3121.-Definitions, 26 CFR 31.3121(d)-1: Who are employees. (Also Sections 3306, 3401; 31.3306(i)-1, 31.3401(c)-1.)   Employment status under section 530(d) of the Revenue Act of 1978. Guidelines are set forth for determining […]

OMG! TWD is nothing to LOL about: Set policy to ease ‘Texting-While-Driving’ risks

12/11/2007

People who send text messages while driving are three times more likely to crash than other drivers, and distracted driving accounts for 80% of all accidents. You need a policy that prohibits employees from texting while driving on company business. Here’s why it’s important and how to craft your policy.

Making spirits bright: 10 holiday perks to ease employee stress

12/04/2007

The holiday season can be an exceptionally stressful and busy time for your employees. And of course, frazzled, frantic and depressed doesn’t equal high productivity. Try these timesaving, stress-relieving perks to ease employees’ minds and their calendars—and improve retention.

Beware informal policy on returning after pregnancy

12/01/2007

Many employers try to simplify medical leave policies by adopting the same eligibility requirements set by the FMLA. But those same employers sometimes make exceptions for select employees, especially if they are seen as too valuable to lose to a short medical leave. Watch out if that’s your informal practice. Denying that flexibility to pregnant employees probably violates the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act …

Airline apologizes for playing fashion police in Columbus

12/01/2007

Southwest Airlines, headquartered in Dallas, apologized to a male passenger who was forced to change his shirt by an airline employee at the Port Columbus International Airport. The passenger’s shirt referred to a fishing shop called “Master Baiter” …

Then again, where’s a fashion cop when you need one?

12/01/2007

Tacky dress might have been an improvement over what one suburban Columbus teacher routinely wore to pick up his morning paper: nothing. The Westerville City Schools placed the man, a singing teacher, on paid leave …

Despite rising health care costs, Oregon offers full benefits

12/01/2007

With health care costs on the rise, most state governments are cutting back on their share of employees’ health insurance premiums. Oregon is not one of them. State employees and their families still receive fully paid health insurance …