Policies / Handbooks

Fired special needs therapist denied unemployment

01/24/2014

A former special needs therapist has lost her bid for unemployment compensation after a supervisor testified that the therapist told students she needed therapy herself because of the way the students behaved. The incident occurred while the supervisor was observing the class.

Beware boss who undermines anti-harassment rules

01/24/2014

Here’s a novel situation: What do you do if you learn that someone is undermining a manager or HR director’s efforts to stop sexual harassment by enforcing company rules? If you ignore the manager’s complaint, she may sue the company for allowing sexual harassment to flourish.

Progressive Discipline

01/18/2014

HR Law 101: The most reliable way to protect your organization from charges of wrongful discharge is to establish and enforce a system of progressive discipline. Make it clear to all your supervisors that they’re expected to abide by your policy …

File it under ‘Bad HR ideas’

01/17/2014

The Institute for Integrative Nutrition took career planning a bit too far when its HR department created a chart listing every female staff member, her marital status and whether or not she had children. Then HR asked managers to predict if and when each woman might be expected to become pregnant and have to take maternity leave. You’ll never guess what happened.

Constructive Discharge

01/17/2014

HR Law 101: Some supervisors try to skirt the whole issue of firing someone by resorting to constructive discharge. Their logic: If we make an employee’s time at work so intolerable, he or she will choose to resign. That’s an unwise strategy …

Prevent your employee handbook from becoming a binding contract: 2 easy steps

01/15/2014

A few simple mistakes in your employee handbook can turn it into a binding legal contract and destroy your right to terminate employees at-will. Here’s how to avoid that:

Misconduct caught on video: Must we show the employee the proof?

01/10/2014

Q. A client took video of one of our employees talking on the phone and swerving all over the road when driving a group of children in the course of her job. We suspended the employee. Now the employee is demanding to see the video. Must we let her?

Make sure your pay policies properly address meal breaks

01/08/2014

Paying employees for break time—or not paying them—is one of the trickiest aspects of wage-and-hour law compliance. Know your obligations!

Manage a year’s worth of seasonal distractions

01/06/2014

Sure. the holidays are over, but here 12 unofficial “holidays” that employees will likely observe in 2014—even if they aren’t on the calendar—and divert their attention from their work.

Age Discrimination: ADEA/OWBPA

01/05/2014

HR Law 101: Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, employers with 20 or more workers can’t engage in personnel practices that discriminate against individuals age 40 and older. Most age discrimination cases grow out of wrongful discharge and mandatory retirement policies, but they can involve any adverse change in working conditions …