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

HR Management

Must we release personnel file to employee terminated for inappropriate behavior?

04/01/2008
Q. We recently terminated an employee for inappropriate workplace behavior. About two weeks after his last day of work, I received a letter from him requesting a copy of his personnel file. He did not state why he wanted it (although I can guess), and I’d rather not give him possible ammunition to use against the company in a lawsuit. Are we required to provide terminated employees access to or copies of their personnel files? …

The wisdom of showing written performance reviews to employees

04/01/2008
Q. We usually don’t allow our employees to read or comment on their annual evaluations. Instead, we perform a performance review one-on-one and have them sign an acknowledgment that they have discussed their performance. Do we need to provide them with a copy of the evaluation? …

After a merger, must you draft new I-9s for all employees?

04/01/2008
Q. Our company is currently going through a merger. Are we required to complete a new I-9 employment eligibility form for each employee who worked for the other company, or are these employees “grandfathered” in? …

Payroll records: Timekeeping for exempt, nonexempt workers

04/01/2008
Federal wage-and-hour laws require you to have a reliable system to accurately keep track of employees’ hours and pay. Casual timekeeping systems can easily trigger a back-wage lawsuit. Here’s the bottom line on how to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act’s complicated requirements.

Contract disclaimers in handbooks preserve at-Will status

04/01/2008
While employee handbooks are essential, be careful. If they are worded improperly, they can tie employers’ hands—and may even create employment contracts that remove the at-will status that allow employees to be terminated for any legal reason …

Will a disclaimer protect us from all claims related to our handbook?

04/01/2008
Q. Our handbook has a bold and conspicuous disclaimer stating that everyone is an at-will employee and that nothing in the handbook alters the at-will relationship. Is that sufficient to protect the company from claims based on the handbook? …

What’s the law on demanding a nonsmoking work force?

04/01/2008
Q. The media often have stories about companies that adopt a “no-smoker” policy in order to save on health insurance costs, and force their staffs to quit smoking to keep their jobs. Can my Colorado company do this? …

Monitor to make sure harassment really has stopped

04/01/2008
It sometimes happens: Production floor or other entry-level employees lacking a—shall we say—sophisticated outlook on life go a little too far. Perhaps they play a practical joke that is offensive to a co-worker. Someone complains, and HR investigates. The culprits apologize, and everything settles down. Is the organization in the clear? …

You must follow no-Fault absenteeism policy to the letter

04/01/2008
Companies often rely on a no-fault absenteeism policy as an objective way to determine who should be terminated for unreliability. As long as the policy doesn’t count time off for an FMLA-protected reason, such policies work well—if you follow your own rules …

Plan ahead for this year’s ‘Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work’ Day

04/01/2008
The fourth Thursday of every April is “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work” Day, so this year it falls on April 24. To head off requests and confusion about whether or when the kids can come, establish some ground rules …