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Policies / Handbooks

Sniff out suspicious FMLA requests with this 9-step plan

09/01/2004
Issue: Half of all HR professionals say they’ve approved FMLA requests that they believed weren’t legitimate. Risk: Employees who “work” the system to earn …

Should you take on OSHA as a partner?

09/01/2004
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) offers several avenues for employers to establish alliances with the agency. Possible benefits …

New reason to tighten promotion process

08/01/2004
Can employees sue your organization for failing to promote them to jobs they never even applied for? It seems crazy, but it could be true. Courts are increasingly opening a backdoor …

Don’t let office romance poison workplace; third parties can sue

08/01/2004
Legal threats from interoffice romance typically come from harassment claims if the relationship sours. But here comes a new threat: employees who claim a “hostile environment” when favoritism caused by another …

Base light-duty policy on business necessity; enforce it consistently

08/01/2004
Employers are very leery about firing pregnant employees, and rightly so. But don’t let your lawsuit fears paralyze you from taking legal, appropriate actions.
In short, federal law requires that …

Violent reaction from boss may trigger retaliation lawsuit

08/01/2004
If workers want to bring retaliation lawsuits against their employers, they must prove they suffered an “adverse employment action,” such as being fired, threatened or denied a promotion. But a court …

Monitor safety risks more closely during summer

08/01/2004
More employers are adopting a popular summertime perk: closing early (or even shutting down) on Fridays during summer. More than a quarter of companies polled by Hewitt Associates have turned to …

Protecting trade secrets: Loose lips sink your legal defense

08/01/2004
THE LAW. Today’s definition of trade secrets encompasses any information, technical or nontechnical, that your organization has reasonably protected and is valuable enough to give you an actual or potential …

Resignation Notice Policy May Not Be Enforceable

08/01/2004

Q. Is it legal to require management employees to give us a longer resignation period than other employees? —M.L., Missouri

Are departed employees eligible for bonuses?

08/01/2004

Q. Our company pays out bonuses in the year after the work is completed, sometimes late into the first quarter. If an employee resigns prior to the bonus payout date (say in January), do we have to pay that employee the bonus? —A.G., South Carolina