Policies / Handbooks

Former Victoria’s Secret employee claims pregnancy bias

02/02/2009

A Beaumont-area Victoria’s Secret employee recently filed suit in Jefferson County District Court alleging she was discriminated against because of her pregnancy. Krystal Burns brought her suit under Title VII, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Texas Labor Code.

What’s the best way to legally limit the length of leaves of absences?

02/02/2009

Q. How do we handle an employee who is on an indefinite leave of absence and does not know when he will be able to return to work?

Plan ahead for Take-the-Kids-to-Work Day: April 23

01/29/2009

April 23 is Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. To head off confusion, establish some ground rules and/or fun events for that day.

Promptly investigate co-worker harassment—and ensure employees know how to report it

01/27/2009

There’s no time like now to review your sexual harassment policies and processes. First, remember that sexual harassment by a supervisor is the most dangerous kind. But that’s not the case with most sexual harassment complaints, however—the ones that occur between co-workers.

Can we set different sick policies for different offices?

01/16/2009

Q. We have two offices in two different states. In one office, we have a sick leave policy in place because we have exempt employees, and the FLSA requires us to have the policy if we want to dock exempt employees for sick time after they exhaust their sick days. All employees at the second office are hourly, and they rarely call in sick. Can we have a policy at one location and not at another?

Immigration compliance issues and changes to track in 2009

01/15/2009

Employers have a number of immigration compliance issues to track in 2009, affecting the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9, business travel, no-match letters and employment authorization documentation.

4 ways to bring domestic violence out of the workplace shadows

01/13/2009

There’s a widespread understanding of the grave impact domestic violence has on personal lives and the havoc it wreaks on families and communities. Now more attention is being paid to its effect at work. Sometimes, incidents of domestic violence actually happen in the workplace. But the impact goes far beyond immediate safety concerns.

Require those on FMLA leave to call in sick, just like any other employee

01/13/2009

Good news from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals: If you have a system for employees to call in sick, you can require everyone to use it—even employees on approved intermittent FMLA leave. The trick is to make sure that the employee taking FMLA leave understands she still must call in.

Have policy, act fast to cut racism liability

01/09/2009

When racism raises its ugly head at work, employers must do two things. First, make sure everyone understands your company policy prohibits any form of harassment, including that of a racial nature. Then punish anyone caught violating that policy. And if racist graffiti is involved, remove the graffiti as soon as possible.

3 ways HR can help employees cut their health care costs

01/05/2009

As the economy worsens, rising health costs are driving more employees to cut their own spending on medical care. Here are three ways your organization can keep workers focused on their health even as they skimp on expenses …