Policies / Handbooks

Docking pay for snow-day absences: When is it legal?

02/04/2024

The snow’s coming down pretty good and an exempt employee calls to say she can’t make it in today because her car is stuck. Can you deduct a full day’s pay from her salary for that missed day? What if she’s non-exempt? What if you close work because of bad weather? Here’s guidance—and a handy flowchart—to help you make the call.

Get written acknowledgment for every missed shift

02/02/2024

Employers that have clear rules and apply them fairly seldom lose termination lawsuits—if they can prove their employees understood the rules. One of the best ways to demonstrate that is by consistently having workers acknowledge that they broke a rule. Do this at the time you discipline the worker, pointing out what rule they broke. A brief written disciplinary notice with a space for the employee’s signature should to the trick.

Know the limits on banning weapons at work

02/02/2024

Employers are required to keep their employees safe at work. To that end, many ban weapons of any kind on company premises. But depending on your location, that may or may not be permissible.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, review policies addressing sexual harassment

01/31/2024

With February comes Valentine’s Day, as good an excuse as any to review your company communications policies so employees understand there are limits on how, where and when they can embrace the spirit of romance at work.

Prepare to comply: Pregnant Workers Fairness Act regulations due soon

10/23/2023

The EEOC is gearing up to begin enforcement of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The law, enacted in December 2022, requires employers to reasonably accommodate a worker’s limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an undue hardship.

Majority of workers already use generative AI, but company policies lag

10/02/2023

More than half of U.S. employees are already using generative artificial intelligence tools, at least occasionally, to accomplish work-related tasks. Yet some three-quarters of companies still lack an established, clearly communicated organizational AI policy.

Prepare to drop or rewrite these handbook rules

09/06/2023

National Labor Relations Board rulings can affect the very rules you write into your handbook. The board’s Stericycle decision, issued in August, calls for a wholesale reexamination of the handbook rules that any private-sector employers seek to enforce, whether or not they operate in a union environment.

Train supervisors to spot the signs of drug impairment

09/05/2023

Before you require an employee to submit to a drug-screening test, make sure your front-line supervisors really know how to spot the signs of impairment. The key: They must be able show that they have a reasonable suspicion that an employee may be under the influence of drugs. If they can’t, you may have a hard time defending the test if the employee decides to sue you.

6 tips for writing a mobile phone policy for your workplace

08/16/2023

Have you been tasked with writing mobile device workplace policies for your organization? If so, you need to know what and what not to include to ensure the policy is not only effective but also lenient enough that your staff will want to go along with it. Here are six useful tips for developing a cell phone policy that will improve productivity without sacrificing morale.

Review work rules in light of NLRB’s new pro-employee ruling

08/14/2023

As political winds shift, so do National Labor Relations Board rulings. Nowhere has this been more apparent than in the realm of cases addressing worker rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act.