Policies / Handbooks

Work Marathon Interrupted by Olympics Online

08/19/2008

The Games of the XXIX Olympiad are in full swing, and that means a certain number of your employees are watching on the web. According to a CareerBuilder.com survey, 12% of workers say they plan to watch some of the Beijing Olympics at work. Should you crack down … or see what life lessons the Games can offer?

Breaks required—But forcing employees to take them isn’t

08/15/2008

In what may end up being a landmark decision, a California Court of Appeal has held that Golden State employers aren’t required to ensure employees actually take meal and rest breaks. Employers are in the clear as long as they permit breaks and do not prevent or discourage employees from taking them …

What are our responsibilities concerning breastfeeding in the workplace?

08/15/2008

Q. A number of our employees are pregnant. What are our obligations to accommodate their need to breastfeed when they return to work? …

Ensure handbook doesn’t make FMLA promises you can’t keep

08/13/2008

An Indiana employer must now respond to charges it misled employees when it promised FMLA benefits in its handbook, even though the company is too small to be covered by the FMLA. The case, recently decided by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, shows the problems that arise when employers promise more than they are willing to deliver in their employee handbooks …

Not to split hairs, you can’t sell Harleys looking like that

08/12/2008

Craig Berg joined Apol’s Harley-Davidson of Alexandria as a salesman in May 2006. During his tenure of less than a year, Berg received at least 10 warnings from supervisor Thomas Brenden about his appearance. Brenden objected to Berg’s facial hair, which he shaved every few days. “If you want to grow a beard, grow a beard,” Brenden told him. “If you don’t want to grow a beard, then shave.” …

Can we withhold accrued vacation pay if employee doesn’t give two weeks’ notice?

08/12/2008

Q. Our company policy is to not pay an employee for unused vacation time if the employee resigns without giving the required two weeks’ notice. A former employee has challenged this policy and is threatening to take the company to court. Is this policy lawful? …

Take steps to ensure employees aren’t exposed to porn at work

08/11/2008

Perhaps because controlling Internet access to pornographic images isn’t technically difficult, and because word tends to get around pretty quickly if a co-worker is showing porn to co-workers, courts now are clamping down more on employers that don’t do enough to make sure the workplace is not a sexual cesspool …

Judge upholds gun law as companies duck and cover

08/11/2008

Florida employees may keep guns locked in their cars at work, but customers do not have the same right, Tallahassee U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled in July. Hinkle upheld most of Florida’s new “guns at work” law, which went into effect July 1, but said it is so poorly written that it’s “stupid.”

‘You Won’t Work Sundays?!’ EEOC Offers Guidance on Religious Accommodations

08/06/2008

The EEOC recently released guidance to help employers avoid religious discrimination charges. Distilled from the law, regulations and court decisions, the guidance offers both a list of frequently asked questions about religious discrimination and accommodation and a list of best practices. You can download free copies of each here.

You’re justified in firing employee you reasonably believe committed ‘Leave fraud’