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Policies / Handbooks

Alcoholics may be protected by ADA, but don’t tolerate at-work drinking

04/01/2004
You may be surprised to discover that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may protect workers who are alcoholics, even if they currently drink. To earn ADA protection, an alcoholic’s addiction …

Can you land in trouble for trying to stop harassment? Yes

04/01/2004
You know what they say about good intentions. As the following case shows, if your anti-harassment efforts are seen as an attempt to squash a union-organizing bid, you could be slapped …

No letter from OSHA? Don’t breathe easy yet

04/01/2004
About 13,000 U.S. employers recently received letters alerting them that their companies’ injury and illness rates are “significantly higher” than national averages. They were warned to shape up. The letters don’t …

Turn up volume on ‘no music piracy at work’ message

04/01/2004
It’s a fact that many employers are just now coming to realize: Hip-hopping employees downloading tunes from the Internet can expose your organization to legal problems, not to mention sapping your …

Attendance policy: Control absenteeism without breaking the law

04/01/2004
THE LAW. Regular attendance is obviously a key job function for most of your employees. But despite your freedom to set and enforce attendance rules, you also face key legal …

Carefully Craft Policy to Avoid Paid-Leave ‘Stacking’

04/01/2004

Q. A pregnant employee eligible for FMLA wants to take the 12 weeks of leave. Our leave policy says an employee on FMLA must first use his or her sick, vacation and personal leave, in that order, before the leave is unpaid. In this case, the employee has enough sick leave for the 12 weeks. But should she be allowed to use sick leave for the entire 12 weeks? Is this in our best interest? —M.P., Texas

Anti-bias and sex-harassment training: a 5-point checklist

04/01/2004
Issue: Failing to train employees on discrimination and harassment can prove a costly mistake, but so is training them the wrong way. Benefit: Effective and ongoing training signals your “good-faith” …

3 privacy ‘musts’ for securing employee data

04/01/2004

Issue: You’re responsible for securing sensitive employee information. Benefits: Privacy measures and policies protect employees from identity theft and privacy invasion. Actions: Refine your privacy policy, institute a proper …

You’re free to set paid-Holiday policy

04/01/2004

Q. Can our company freely change its paid-holiday policy? Are we bound by certain federal or state laws on holiday pay, for instance? —D.C., Oklahoma

Employee ‘odor policy’ must pass the smell test

04/01/2004
Issue: Can you tell an employee to take a bath? Risk: You risk a discrimination claim because, unlike other grooming-policy issues, odor lies in the eye (or nose) of the …