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Policies / Handbooks

Quiet ringing phones and ‘cell yell’ in workplace

04/01/2005
Workplaces are increasingly being disrupted by the ringing of personal cell phones and employees engaged in high-volume wireless talking (“cell yell”). As a result, more employers are establishing policies on when …

Shifting to paid-time-off plan? You’re not alone

04/01/2005
In an effort to minimize employee-absence costs, more employers are dumping traditional absence policies in favor of paid time-off (PTO) plans. Such plans lump together time-off benefits (sick days, vacation days, …

Warn managers: no ‘one-sided’ socializing

03/01/2005
Supervisors may naturally feel more comfortable with employees from one gender or the other. But, as a new court ruling shows, it’s important to counsel supervisors never to hold members of …

Can you limit employees’ time to file suit?

03/01/2005
An employee’s ability to sue your organization expires at different times under various employment laws. For example, in most states, employees can file sexual harassment lawsuits within 300 days of the …

Don’t impose grooming rules that weigh heavier on one gender

03/01/2005
Courts usually allow you to set grooming policies or appearance standards, particularly for employees who deal directly with customers. Just make sure you apply your rules evenhandedly across your work force. …

Cite Return-to-Work Tests in Drug/Alcohol Policy

03/01/2005

Q. One of our employees was recently in jail for traffic and drug violations. Before he returns to work, what guidelines can we follow to ensure that he’s drug-free? Will we be discriminating if we require a drug test before allowing him back on site, even though we didn’t require this test when he was hired? —M.Z., Washington

Use an ‘accuracy statement’ to sniff out applicants’ lies

03/01/2005
Issue: Creating a legal basis to reject (or fire) people who lie on their job applications.
Benefit: Providing a “statement of accuracy” on applications gives you strong legal standing against …

Comply with the new ethics-training rules in 7 easy steps

03/01/2005
Issue: New federal guidelines require all organizations to establish an ethics-training program.
Benefit: By taking the lead on this issue, you’ll cut the organization’s liability risk and impress the brass. …

Don’t get snagged in OSHA’s beefed-up inspection machine

03/01/2005
Issue: OSHA “dramatically” increased the number of its most serious kind of violations that it handed out in 2004.
Risk: Negative inspection results can trigger big fines and sales-killing publicity. …

You can exclude vacation pay from ‘Regular rate’

03/01/2005

Q. When we are figuring employees’ base pay for overtime calculations, can we exclude their vacation pay? —R.J.D., South Dakota