Policies / Handbooks

Expect pressure to relax grooming standards

11/19/2020

United Parcel Service, with 525,000 employees, just became one of the largest employers to embrace more relaxed grooming standards. The change comes as more locales enact laws based on model legislation known as the Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair Act.

8 questions office managers must address before return-to-work

11/07/2020

Before a possible influx of employees back into the office, make sure you’ve begun to explore solutions to the following dilemmas.

Defeat bias lawsuits with well-crafted policies

09/10/2020

One of the best ways to beat employee allegations that they were disciplined or fired because of discrimination: Show the court you have comprehensive policies on discipline that you enforce consistently.

Vaccines: Prepare for flu season—and beyond

09/01/2020

The coronavirus pandemic has thrown our usual work scenarios into chaos, and now another, more familiar, health risk is looming: the fall influenza season. If you don’t usually encourage employees to get flu shots, consider starting now.

5 dangerous omissions from your employee handbook

08/29/2020

How many of the following aspects of an effective employee handbook are unfortunately on your list of “to-dos,” and represent dangerous omissions that could catch you off guard?

Should employers be testing employees for COVID-19?

08/21/2020

Taken by panic and an abundance of caution, many organizations are considering requiring all employees to present negative COVID-19 tests as a condition to reporting to work. Legally, the EEOC says you can require this testing. Practically, however, it presents some huge hurdles.

Bosses, not staff, should enforce mask rules

08/04/2020

“Do not ask or expect a nonmanagement employee to handle removal of a noncompliant visitor, guest or customer,” advised the Fisher Phillips employment law firm in a recent blog post.

3 overlooked basics of a telecommuting agreement

07/30/2020

If you don’t have a telecommuting agreement on the books, attorney Anniken Davenport provided guidance on how to structure one in a recent webinar.

Now more than ever, keep dress code neutral

07/30/2020

With a potentially polarizing election looming, workplace conflict over politics seems almost inevitable. Employers should avoid fueling those battles. One flashpoint to beware: Dress codes that prescribe what employees must or must not wear at work, especially concerning political expression.

Google extends work-from-home, others could follow

07/28/2020

News that Google will allow most employees to work from home for 12 more months has other employers reconsidering their own plans to reopen workplaces this year.