Communication

Tell State and Community When Big Layoffs Are Coming

04/01/2001

Q. Our company has been unable to secure financing and will run out of cash in the next four to six months. We may have to shut down and lay off all 200 workers. At what point do we have to notify employees of the possible closing? —R.Y., Maryland

Notify employees if you find a problem with your benefit plan

03/01/2001

Joseph Griggs took early retirement after 32 years with DuPont. The company was offering certain employees a special pension benefit. For Griggs, that would equal a year’s salary, in addition to …

Stray remarks add to suspicions of bias

12/01/2000

With nearly 30 years of experience and several awards for selling animal health products, Marvin Fisher was assigned to a top sales unit after a company merger. About a year later, the company…

Worker’s body odor requires prompt diplomacy

12/01/2000

Q. We have an employee with an increasing body odor problem. The problem is so bad that co-workers are complaining about having to interact with her. We need to discuss the problem with the employee. Are there any legal issues that we need to be concerned about? —T.M., Texas

Point and click for workplace posters

11/01/2000

Unsure which federal-law posters you’re required to display in your workplace? Check out the new Poster Advisor on the U.S. Labor Department’s Web site …

Base English-only rules on business necessity

10/01/2000

Unless you have a good business reason, steer clear of preventing workers from talking to each other in their native language. In September …

FMLA regulation strikes out again

10/01/2000

Another federal appeals court has struck down Labor Department regulations that say the clock doesn’t start ticking on an employee’s allowable …

Don’t miss SIMPLE deadline

08/01/2000

If you have 100 or fewer employees, you can set up an uncomplicated retirement plan called a SIMPLE (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees). But there are a couple of key …

Drug testing down, electronic monitoring up at big U.S. firms

08/01/2000

The proportion of major U.S. companies that require new or current employees to submit to drug tests slipped to 66 percent this year, down from 70 percent last year and 74 …

Notify workers quickly that leave counts toward Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) time.

07/01/2000

The 6th Circuit has endorsed a Labor Department regulation that says a company can’t count time under the FMLA unless it notifies the worker, within two days …