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Policies / Handbooks

Clean up graffiti or risk harassment lawsuit

02/01/2003
For five years, Allen Beach was a marked man at Yellow Freight. Offensive graffiti with his name was scrawled on the walls of dozens of trucks. Some of the milder …

Don’t punish employees for participating in legal probes

02/01/2003
Kimberly Hill, a 10-year employee at the Kentucky Lottery Corp., testified at an unemployment compensation hearing on behalf of a co-worker who alleged discrimination. Soon …

Whistle-blowers gain courage thanks to Time honor

02/01/2003
More than ever, it’s important to keep lines of communication open with employees and to make sure they can air grievances without fear of retaliation. Reason: …

Keep your credibility intact: 12 lessons from the courtroom

02/01/2003
To avoid becoming the target of discrimination lawsuits, you need to protect your credibility as a leader and manager. Reason: It’s one of the top ways plaintiffs’ attorneys …

Performance reviews: Revamp outdated once-a-year drill

02/01/2003
How often do you review each worker? Once a year 66%, Twice a year 19, Quarterly 10, Never 3, As necessary 2. Source: OfficeTeam 2002 survey of 150 companies

Don’t stray from layoff procedures

01/01/2003
A 65-year-old employee was laid off as part of a reduction in force. She claimed her supervisor had made age-related comments, and the company failed to follow its published RIF criteria …

Be Specific With Drug and Alcohol Policy

01/01/2003

Q. Our drug and alcohol policy states: “While on company premises and while conducting business for the company off premises, no employee may use, possess, distribute, sell or be under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs.” It’s very clear how this applies at the work site. But some of our staff asked if this also applies to them when they travel or attend out-of-town seminars at hotels. Does our policy still hold up in this situation? —V.S., New Mexico

Don’t Allow Unlimited Sick Leave

01/01/2003

Q. Our company gives eight hours of sick leave per month to nonexempt employees. We’ve been told that, under the FLSA, exempt employees are to be paid whenever they are sick. So our exempt employees have virtually an unlimited sick-leave balance. Is this a correct way to interpret the FLSA? Should we have some type of sick-leave accrual and tracking for our exempts? —D.H., Kentucky

Inconsistent hiring sinks your defense

12/01/2002
Don’t leave the hiring and firing process up to your managers. Standardize your practices, and make sure everyone follows them. Giving any worker, especially a disabled one, the bum’s rush will …

You don’t have to police workplace banter, but don’t let it escalate

12/01/2002
On the production floor, Lisa Ocheltree had to listen to conversations between male co-workers about their sexual exploits, which included vulgar language. The men showed …