• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Policies / Handbooks

Not a matter of style: Factor safety, liability into dress code

04/30/2012

A recent HR Specialist poll found that casual attire is the norm in 88% of our readers’ workplaces. But a culture of dressing down doesn’t mean organizations don’t need a dress code. What people wear to work is more than a matter of personal preference. One area of primary concern is safety.

How should we manage unused vacation?

04/19/2012

Q. Several of our employees have compiled a lot of vacation time. Is there any way we can manage how much vacation leave time our employees accrue?

The 5 elements your vacation leave policy must include

04/16/2012
Summer vacation season will soon be upon us, and that means it’s time to dust off your company’s time-off policy. A sound vacation policy addresses the following five elements:

Safety trumps bias claim in case of ‘no skirts’ rule

04/16/2012
One of the few times you can overrule an employee’s religious accommodation requests is when safety is involved, as the following case shows.

11 guidelines for preventing and addressing workplace violence

04/03/2012

Nearly 2 million U.S. workers are victims of workplace violence each year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Last year, 506 employees were slain at work.Don’t let your organization add to those sobering statistics. To reduce the chance of workplace violence—or your liability if it does happen—follow these 11 guidelines:

Vacation leave: A 5-part plan & sample policies

04/01/2012
You wouldn’t dream of having informal payroll policies, right? Yet too many employers treat vacation time—a form of compensation—as a casual entitlement. Getting too informal can cost you. Here are the five key elements a sound vacation policy addresses—plus two sample vacation policies you can adapt for your organization.

11 guidelines for preventing and addressing workplace violence

03/30/2012

Nearly 2 million U.S. workers are victims of workplace violence each year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Don’t let your organization add to those sobering statistics. To reduce the chance of workplace violence—or your liability if it does happen—follow these 11 guidelines:

Be sure to document effective date of new disciplinary policies

03/30/2012
Sometimes, it’s obvious that a disciplinary policy isn’t working. Occasionally, management’s ideas about discipline evolve. When you do replace your discipline policy, make sure you document exactly when the change went into effect. That way, an employee who is punished more severely can’t point to the earlier disciplinary actions as evidence he was unfairly singled out.

Manning’s big tip earns big penalty for Raleigh waiter

03/23/2012
A March evening started out great for a waiter at the Angus Barn restaurant. One of his customers was NFL quarterback and well-known big tipper Peyton Manning, who left a $200 tip. The waiter was so excited he posted Manning’s credit card slip in a photo on Facebook. Bad move …

Having anti-harassment policy isn’t enough: You had better be prepared to enforce it, too

03/22/2012

It’s not enough to have an anti-harassment and discrimination policy in your manual. It’s not even enough to train everyone regularly on what the policy requires. What really counts is enforcing the policy when complaints come in. If you don’t, the penalty may be punitive damages.