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HR Management

Train supervisors on new risk of workplace retaliation

08/01/2006

If your organization doesn’t currently make it clear that it prohibits supervisors from retaliating against employees who complain about discrimination, now’s the time to hammer home that message …

You can require reservists to arbitrate USERRA claims

08/01/2006

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) protects the rights of soldiers and reservists who are called to active duty or training and want to return to their jobs once their service is over. But these rights aren’t without limits …

What does broad new definition of ‘Retaliation’ mean to you?

08/01/2006

Expect this summer’s blockbuster U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Burlington Northern v. White, to swell the number of retaliation complaints and legal claims …

State law dictates smoking-Ban ability

08/01/2006

Q. We run a carry-out/catering kitchen. Can we legally tell all of our employees and customers that they can’t smoke on the property? —L.D., Maryland

Overly specific discipline policy can spark liability

08/01/2006

Q. I’m the HR director, and our discipline policy is very complicated and has several different categories of offenses. It says that if employees commit offenses that may result in suspensions of more than three days, employees are allowed a pre-disciplinary counseling conference. Now, my manager thinks that conference should be skipped if the employee has already been counseled for a prior offense in the past 12 months. I’m concerned that this deviates from our policy. Can we do this? —S.D., Illinois

Lessons from the 2006 SHRM conference: Online-Only Handbooks: a risky legal proposition

08/01/2006

Rather than print out paper versions for each new employee, some employers have begun creating electronic-only employee handbooks. With each new hire, HR simply points the person to the online handbook, and tells him or her to read it and sign an acknowledgment form. Online handbooks cut costs and make it easier to amend your policies. But such a strategy could be legally risky …

Lessons from the 2006 SHRM conference: Does your organization need a ‘Chief Mobility Officer’?

08/01/2006

Your organization’s investment in its mobile work force—from flight costs to technology to relocation fees—can far exceed the cost of an employee’s benefits package. Still, many employers manage mobile workers in a fragmented and inconsistent way, which hurts efficiency and expenses …

Put a positive face on rising employee health costs

08/01/2006

With health insurance costs continuing to rise, you’ll likely have to tell employees (again) that they’ll shoulder more of the premium. Such news isn’t new for most employees. But they may be reaching the boiling point …

A ‘Perfect storm’ for organized labor is forming over Texas

08/01/2006

For Texas employers, the long-range forecast shows an unstable union atmosphere over the next several years, with pressure building from health care costs, outsourcing and immigration reform. As the united front of the AFL-CIO and the new Change to Win union blow through the state, damage may be significant …

Thinking about settling a lawsuit? Do it early

08/01/2006

When it comes to employment-law cases, if you think your organization will settle the case (rather than go to trial), do it as early in the discussions as possible. It could end up saving you big bucks …