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Policies / Handbooks

4 OT rules that put a stop to off-the-clock work

07/25/2011
Hourly employees know that if they work overtime, their employer must pay them for the extra hours. That’s true, but it doesn’t mean they can work OT whenever they feel like it. Here’s how to end unauthorized overtime

The 5 steps you must take to prevent workplace violence

07/25/2011

There’s never been a better time to implement a violence prevention plan. Tough economic times sometimes cause people to snap—and they might do so at work. You need a prevention program that starts with employee screening and ends with publicizing your tough anti-violence policy.

Choose the best approach to protect your trade secrets

07/22/2011
Every organization wants to safeguard trade secrets and proprietary information. It’s your responsibility to make sure employees know that you expect them to do their part by not divulging your intellectual capital. It’s also important to make sure employees don’t take trade secrets with them if they go to work for a competitor.

11 tips to help dads balance work and family

07/14/2011

Work/life issues are no longer women’s domain. Surveys by the Boston College Cen­ter for Work & Family and World­at­Work agree that men are struggling to balance the need to both care for their families and work to support them. Here are 11 recommendations from the surveys’ authors:

Will we get in trouble for disciplining an employee for disparaging Facebook postings?

07/13/2011
Q. An employee has posted some very unflattering things about the company on her Facebook page. Is there anything we need to consider before taking disciplinary action against her?

Promote harmony, prevent hostile environment by adding civility policy to your handbook

07/13/2011
Few reasonable employees like working in an unpleasant environment where co-workers call each other names and generally treat each other with disrespect. They may, however, ignore such conduct to avoid rocking the boat. But supervisors who don’t put a stop to it risk a hostile environment lawsuit. That’s why you should consider adopting a civility policy that demands employees treat each other with respect and bans insults and other boorish behavior.

Key to beating lawsuit: Belief worker broke rule

07/13/2011
Employers that can show they fired an employee for violating a company policy will generally win any subsequent lawsuit—if they can show they reasonably believed that’s what happened. It doesn’t matter if later it turns out the employer was wrong.

Check your web policies: NLRB looks at employee Facebook posts

07/13/2011
Facebook and other social net­working web sites are signifi­cantly changing the way people com­mu­ni­cate—and that communication isn’t always merely personal. Em­ployees sometimes post comments criticizing their jobs and employers. Tempting though it may be, think twice before punishing employees for online behavior that you think maligns your organization.

FMLA policy: How do I draft it if few are eligible?

07/13/2011
Q. Our company has 250 employees in eight states, but we have FMLA eligible employees in only one state. As I rewrite our employee handbook, I will include the mandatory FMLA language. However, I would like some input on what type of policy, if any, to include for non-FMLA eligible employees.

The cure for FMLA pains … a Cancun vacation?

07/08/2011
Ever wonder if your employees out on FMLA leave are really sitting on a beach sipping a drink with a little umbrella in it? If you think employees are violating your policies, what can you do? One court ruled last month that you can fire such an employee … but first make sure you have the right policies in place.