Policies / Handbooks

‘Cyberloafing’ is an epidemic: Add teeth to your policy

03/15/2013

The bad news: Up to 80% of employees’ time spent on the Internet has nothing to do with their work. Worse news: Having just a policy won’t deter them.

New employee in skimpy attire: Can we create a dress code without singling her out?

03/13/2013

Q. Our company is very casual and has no dress code. A recent hire is a young woman who wears low-cut tops and short skirts. Our staff is predominantly male and this has become a distraction and frequent conversation topic. How can we implement a dress code now without appearing to single anyone out?

Next year, what steps can we take to protect workers against the flu?

03/12/2013

Q. We’ve had so many employee absences due to the flu this year. Next year, can we require all employees to get a flu shot?

March Madness office pool: Ban it or embrace it?

03/08/2013

The HR consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas estimates that lost work productivity during the 19-day March Madness tournament will top $1 billion. The real risk, however, comes from compulsive gamblers on your payroll.

Use clear policy to thwart harassment claims

03/07/2013

One of the best ways to fight hostile work environment claims: a handbook with a strong sexual harassment policy that shows employees exactly how they should report problems.

We’re starting a wellness program: Any caveats?

02/20/2013

Q. In an effort to encourage our employees to make healthy lifestyle choices, we plan to offer an employee wellness program starting this summer. Is there anything we need to be careful about?

Romance policies that work–even with ‘irresistible’ employees

02/20/2013

Workplace romance has long been the bane of the HR profession. A December 2012 Iowa Supreme Court decision in Nelson v. Knight has further roiled the workplace romance waters by holding that an employer could terminate an employee for being “irresistible.”

Just 3 days of harassment can indeed create a hostile work environment

02/08/2013

Usually, courts considering whether an employee worked in a sexually hostile environment will look at a period of weeks, months or years to assess whether the alleged harassment was “severe and pervasive” enough to become truly hostile. But sometimes just a few days will do the trick.

Employee Twitter accounts: Who really owns the followers?

02/07/2013

With people generating more than 340 million tweets daily, Twitter has become a social media phenomenon … and an employment liability risk. One important issue: Who owns an employee’s Twitter handle? And if your employees post on their work-related Twitter accounts, can they “take” the followers when they leave?

Bank of America cutting back flex, work-at-home positions

02/01/2013

Charlotte-based Bank of America has started curtailing its popular work-from-home program called “My Work”. Employee usage has risen steadily over the years, but now Bank of America is cutting back as part of a larger cost-cutting move called Project New BAC.