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Policies / Handbooks

Religious accommodations: Know when to say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’

05/01/2006

Employers need to keep their eye on a growing trend: a groundswell of support for more freedom to practice religion in the workplace. And support for the movement is coming from some unexpected quarters: the U.S. Supreme Court and a bipartisan coalition of U.S. senators …

How Long to Tolerate a ‘Disappearing’ Employee?

05/01/2006

Q. We’re a small business with eight employees. One employee frequently takes off for six to eight weeks with medical problems. She’s done this each year for the past three years. It’s a huge burden because very few people have her training, so we can’t hire a temp. How long do we have to allow her to disappear for months at a time? —M.S., Ohio

Check your ‘ethical pulse’: 4 indicators of a bad decision

05/01/2006

Before you act on a hastily made decision, ask these questions to see if it passes ethical muster.

Part of Sarbanes-Oxley law applies to all employers

05/01/2006

Q. I work for a nonprofit social service organization. Do such organizations have to comply with SOX rules? —J.M., New Jersey

Can you search employee lockers, purses, desks?

05/01/2006

Q. Can we open an employee’s personal things, like her locker, purse or desk drawer, if we suspect her of stealing? —A.G., Connecticut

Do you need a music policy for the ‘iPod generation’?

05/01/2006

The advent of MP3 players, satellite radio and Internet-based music makes it easy to rock and roll at work. Such distractions can reduce employee productivity and even create create legal risks. Establish a music/noise policy before it becomes a problem …

Managers’ actions top list of employee pet peeves

05/01/2006

Ringing cell phones can be annoying, but people responding to a new Randstad survey say their biggest workplace frustrations relate to the way that they’re managed. Topping the list: being spoken to in condescending tones …

Workplace abuse trickles down from the top

05/01/2006

Supervisors engage in more abuse of their staffers when they believe the overall organization makes unfair decisions, according to a new study in Personnel Psychology …

EEOC action spurs longer recordkeeping

04/01/2006

If you think that you can forget about a discrimination dispute just because the employee doesn’t file an EEOC complaint within the allotted time, you may be in for a surprise. As a new court ruling shows, the EEOC can sue your organization years, or even decades, after the alleged discrimination took place …

More reason to beef up training: ‘Quit and sue’ becoming the norm

04/01/2006

Don’t assume that you can handle sexual harassment issues after they arrive on your desk as a complaint. The trend these days seems to be "quit and sue," rather than giving employers a chance to fix the problem. And, in many cases, employees are finding success in such tactics …