Policies / Handbooks

Best defense: Consistent rules universally enforced

11/07/2019

When an applicant or employee launches a lawsuit, courts naturally end up scrutinizing your organization and its processes. The best defense: Have consistent rules that you universally apply to everyone.

Ensure policy spells out exactly how employees should report allegations of sexual harassment

11/07/2019

You will probably survive a harassment lawsuit if you trained all employees how to use the policy and followed up with discipline whenever an investigation uncovered harassment.

Clear rules and good records essential

10/24/2019

Employers that have clear rules showing exactly what they expect from employees have a huge leg up if they are sued for discrimination.

Lawsuit over promotion she never applied for

10/24/2019

Usually, employees must actually apply for a job before they can sue for not being promoted. Generally, just telling a supervisor that one is interested in the idea of a promotion isn’t enough, either. However, that doesn’t mean someone always has to formally fill out an application.

You’ll pay if dress code incites harassment

10/21/2019

If you are in the restaurant or entertainment industry and require employees to wear revealing outfits at work, prepare for an unfortunate if entirely predictable consequence: Customers may harass your workers.

Prevention key to cutting harassment liability

08/29/2019

The best way to avoid liability for sexual harassment is to prevent it from occurring in the first place. That’s why it’s so important to educate supervisors on your sexual harassment policy.

McDonald’s strict grooming policy riles EEOC

08/01/2019

McDonald’s—the restaurant that pumps out carbon-copy burgers and unfailingly flawless fries—has found the limits of its exacting standards. People, it appears, cannot be packaged nearly so precisely.

How rigid can our dress code be about imposing grooming standards?

07/30/2019

Q. Can we require male employees to keep their hair short? Also, can we require male employees to shave their beards?

Anti-harassment policies evolving after #MeToo

07/30/2019

In a survey, 51% of companies reported reviewing their sexual harassment policies since the #MeToo movement emerged as a cultural and business force in the fall of 2017.

Marijuana policies up for grabs despite restrictive DEA rulings

07/09/2019

Twice in the last three years, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration has denied petitions to “reschedule” marijuana under the Controlled Sub-stances Act—despite a growing number of state initiatives to legalize it.