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Policies / Handbooks

Appeals court refuses arbitration bid, cites one-sided, coercive agreement

09/27/2013
A California appellate court has invalidated an arbitration agreement on the grounds that it was unconscionable. The court said it was both one-sided and oppressive.

Keep it neat! You can restrict facial hair

09/27/2013
Private employers have the right to set their own dress and grooming codes. Within limits, that includes restricting an employee’s facial hair and insisting on a clean-shaven face unless an employee can’t shave because of a documented medical condition or religious requirement.

What are the pros and cons of prohibiting workplace photography?

09/16/2013
Q. We recently saw a news report that an AOL employee was fired for taking a photograph during a meeting. Now we’re wondering: Should we include anything in our employee handbook prohibiting the taking of photographs or videos at work?

Multiple locations? Handle FMLA with care

09/16/2013
Employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles must provide FMLA leave. If they have multiple locations, they must often provide leave to some em­­ployees but not others. If that’s your situation, beware making blanket handbook statements about FMLA leave eligibility.

Your best bet for beating false allegations: Good records, consistently fair practices

09/10/2013
You can never predict which employee will sue and over what alleged wrong. That’s why the best approach is to focus on treating every employee fairly and consistently, applying your rules even-handedly.

Steps you should take to derail the FMLA leave abuse train

09/09/2013
Employers face several common struggles when employees take FMLA leave, but there are ways to combat FMLA abuse in the workplace.

Behind the wheel: Why you need an anti-distracted driving policy

09/06/2013
Many states have laws against texting or talking on cellphones while driving. Absent a clear, tough, enforced policy against distracted driving, employers risk losing millions of dollars in jury verdicts—and contribute to crippling and fatal carnage on the road. You need a clear policy: Employees may not use mobile devices while driving on company business.

Make arbitration agreements stick–even if there’s no employee signature

09/06/2013
If you use arbitration as a way to resolve employment disputes, you no doubt realize that you need the employee’s signature on that agreement in order to make it a binding contract. But what happens if that signature isn’t there or perhaps was faked?

After hours: 5 rules for regulating employee moonlighting

09/05/2013
With the rise of the gig economy, some of your employees may have started a side hustle to bring in extra income. If an employee’s second job leads to working long hours, exhaustion could lower his or her productivity, and in some cases it could create liability for you.

Can we ban off-premise, lunch-break sports?

09/04/2013
Q. Two employees got into a fight while on their lunch break. They were playing soccer in an open lot off premises and wearing their company uniforms. The vice president reacted by banning employees from playing any sports during their lunch break—on the premises or off … Can the VP dictate what employees can do on unpaid time?