Policies / Handbooks

CROWN Act alert: Ensure grooming rules don’t perpetuate hairstyle bias

05/03/2024

One of the fastest-growing legal anti-discrimination trends is an effort to outlaw discrimination on the basis of employees’ hairstyles. So far, efforts to pass a national law have proven unsuccessful. However, that hasn’t stopped the EEOC from pursuing litigation against employers accused of natural hair discrimination, as a recent case shows.

Set moonlighting policy that fits today’s workplace

05/01/2024

About 5.3% of American workers have more than one job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s up sharply since May 2020, when only 4% had two or more jobs.

Ensure dress code doesn’t cause discrimination

04/08/2024

If you haven’t reviewed and revised your employee handbook’s dress and grooming policy lately, now is a good time to look for antiquated rules that could trigger lawsuits. That’s especially true if a supervisor tries to enforce out-of-date and potentially discriminatory standards. That’s a lesson one employer recently learned when a supervisor insisted women wear pantyhose and forego cosmetic embellishments that had religious and cultural significance to an employee.

Control March Madness by setting policy on workplace gambling

03/18/2024

In many companies, bracket-pool betting on the tournament is a time-honored tradition. Should you worry?

Get out the vote: Create a voting leave policy

03/15/2024

Were you prepared for the elections that just took place in March? Were your employees clear on when they could take time to vote? Make sure you are prepared come November by implementing a policy or scrutinizing your current one. You can encourage voter turnout by implementing a voting-leave policy that shows employees you take the right to vote seriously.

Considering return-to-office mandate? Read this research first

03/04/2024

Are your organization’s leaders thinking about ordering staff to return to in-person work after four years of telecommuting? It might pay to consider the findings of a recent study that found that return-to-office mandates generally fail to deliver performance gains. They do alienate employees.

Access to Personnel Files: 50 State Laws

02/16/2024

No federal law grants employees the right to inspect their personnel files. However, many states do give employees that right and spell out the terms under which employees are allowed to inspect their files. Here’s a state-by-state list of laws governing access to personnel files.

Can you rein in political speech at work?

02/16/2024

Most employers would prefer employees focus on work and not the state of the world when they are on the clock. So how can you quell political arguments in the workplace? You must balance employees’ interest in speaking freely with your interest in maintaining order and productivity:

A DEI smackdown: Good intentions vs. the law

02/14/2024

In the blue corner, from the Big D, the former owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and serial entrepreneur Mark Cuban. And in the red corner, hailing from our nation’s capital, EEOC Commissioner Andrea Lucas.

Committed to DEI? Here’s how to make it work

02/05/2024

While diversity, equity and inclusion programs have recently come under fire, the Littler Mendelson law firm’s just-released Inclusion, Equity and Diversity C-Suite Survey Report found that most employers remain committed to DEI initiatives. Here are several ways you can leverage DEI to improve organizational performance.