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Policies / Handbooks

No need to bend seniority rules to accommodate disabled employees

06/01/2002
Continuing a pattern of narrowing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that, in most cases, employers don’t have to override their seniority system to accommodate …

Don’t pry too deeply when seeking proof of sick leave

06/01/2002
Under her employer’s sick-leave policy, corrections officer Belinda Fountain had to provide a diagnosis of her medical condition every time she was absent. This “medical certification” had to be on …

Drop any hint of youth-oriented hiring policy

06/01/2002
A 45-year-old sales manager sued under federal age-bias law, saying an insurance company discriminated against older managers. He argued that the company’s hiring policy targeted younger managers to match its recruitment …

Vacation policy: Keep benchmarks, formality in mind

06/01/2002
The summer vacation season is upon us, and that means it’s time to dust off your company’s time-off policy. Despite lingering uncertainty over the economic recovery and travel safety, 77 …

Avoid Liability for ‘Porn Spam’

06/01/2002

Q. Some of our employees have been getting a lot of spam e-mail that advertises porn sites. I’m concerned that an employee will consider this junk as creating a hostile work environment. What can we do to protect ourselves? —M.C., Minnesota

Toughen your hiring policy to help neutralize union ‘salts’

05/01/2002
In applying for a job with a heating and air conditioning company, an applicant stated that he had been laid off from his previous job. But the truth was that the …

Employees have no privacy claim to company-supplied home PC

05/01/2002
For 12 years, a senior insurance executive used two company- provided computers, one at the office and one at his home. He had signed his company’s computer policy, agreeing to use …

Examine your promotion policy for reverse discrimination

05/01/2002
Reason: In a closely watched case, a federal court struck down the U.S. Army’s officer promotion process on the grounds it discriminates against white men. The policy notes past discrimination against …

Root out violent applicants by asking right questions

05/01/2002
Sept. 11 put a new kind of workplace violence on the radar screen, but the threat of verbal and physical attacks by co-workers, customers and spouses is still just as pressing …

Driving while dialing: Set policy to limit car-phone liability

05/01/2002
Many companies have policies regarding telephone calls at work. But these policies often fall short of including the use of phones and other wireless devices for business while driving. Don’t let …