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HR Management

Whistle-blowers gain courage thanks to Time honor

02/01/2003
More than ever, it’s important to keep lines of communication open with employees and to make sure they can air grievances without fear of retaliation. Reason: …

Keep your credibility intact: 12 lessons from the courtroom

02/01/2003
To avoid becoming the target of discrimination lawsuits, you need to protect your credibility as a leader and manager. Reason: It’s one of the top ways plaintiffs’ attorneys …

Performance reviews: Revamp outdated once-a-year drill

02/01/2003
How often do you review each worker? Once a year 66%, Twice a year 19, Quarterly 10, Never 3, As necessary 2. Source: OfficeTeam 2002 survey of 150 companies

Expect more ethical, financial scrutiny from job candidates

01/01/2003
Expect to open your books and answer more questions about your financial practices. Reason: Sixty-nine percent of executive recruits say they’ll look more closely at the financial statements of potential employers, …

Wise up to national-origin bias rules; claims spiked in 2002

01/01/2003
Acquaint yourself with newly updated guidelines from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that teach employers how to foster work environments free of national-origin discrimination. Coming on the heels of 9/11, …

Leading arbitration group makes pro-employee changes to rules

01/01/2003
If your company uses American Arbitra-tion Association (AAA) rules to resolve employment disputes, you’ll need to comply with a handful of updated rules that provide new safeguards to employees during arbitration. …

Completing the I-9: Top 10 do’s and don’ts

01/01/2003
It’s more important than ever to make sure your employees are who they say they are and they’re legally eligible to work in this country. Why? The ongoing battle against …

Don’t stray from layoff procedures

01/01/2003
A 65-year-old employee was laid off as part of a reduction in force. She claimed her supervisor had made age-related comments, and the company failed to follow its published RIF criteria …

Be Specific With Drug and Alcohol Policy

01/01/2003

Q. Our drug and alcohol policy states: “While on company premises and while conducting business for the company off premises, no employee may use, possess, distribute, sell or be under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs.” It’s very clear how this applies at the work site. But some of our staff asked if this also applies to them when they travel or attend out-of-town seminars at hotels. Does our policy still hold up in this situation? —V.S., New Mexico

Don’t Allow Unlimited Sick Leave

01/01/2003

Q. Our company gives eight hours of sick leave per month to nonexempt employees. We’ve been told that, under the FLSA, exempt employees are to be paid whenever they are sick. So our exempt employees have virtually an unlimited sick-leave balance. Is this a correct way to interpret the FLSA? Should we have some type of sick-leave accrual and tracking for our exempts? —D.H., Kentucky