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Policies / Handbooks

Housing grants help employees reduce their commutes

09/01/2006

While some Baltimore residents suffer through a one- or two-hour commute every morning, employees at Johns Hopkins University are sleeping a little later. Since the university began participating in Baltimore’s "Live Near Your Work" program in 1998, about 220 employees have received $2,000 grants to buy homes close to the university’s three campuses …

‘Cool’ music company creates transition plan for new moms

09/01/2006

Detroit-based music company, Handleman Co., hosts impromptu concerts in the lobby and gives free CDs to employees. Such perks landed the firm on a list of 60 "Cool Places to Work" in Michigan. But cool wasn’t cutting it for the company’s working moms, who wanted more flexibility after having babies …

Employer not liable for manager’s unforeseen safety breach

09/01/2006

If one of your company’s supervisors knowingly ignores a safety rule, can OSHA hold the company liable? OSHA has long argued "yes" and has moved against employers on the premise that if the supervisor knows he’s violating the rules, then the company also knows …

Employee blogs raise privacy, confidentiality issues for employers

09/01/2006

Most organizations have comprehensive Internet, e-mail and electronic communications policies that spell out what’s acceptable usage and what’s not. But few employers have addressed a growing problem: the proliferation of employee Web logs, or "blogs" …

Does FMLA cover leave after relative dies?

09/01/2006

Q. One of my employees has been out on FMLA leave for seven weeks taking care of his sick father in another state. The leave was approved for a full 12 weeks. I received a voice mail from him saying that his father died. He also said that he had to clear up a lot of things with his father’s estate, but that he would be back by the end of his scheduled leave. Can he do that or can I tell him he needs to come back sooner? —V.S.

Are mandatory arbitration agreements legal?

09/01/2006

Q. We require, as a condition of employment, that our employees agree to resolve all disputes by binding arbitration, rather than going to court. One of my friends said a lot of the government agencies don’t like those kinds of arbitration policies and one agency even decided that they were illegal. I know lots of employers have binding arbitration, so I don’t think that could be right, but thought I better check. —S.T.

How to pay employee called in during PTO leave

09/01/2006

Q. We have a nonexempt salaried employee who normally works Monday to Friday and is paid biweekly. She took a week’s vacation, which would come from her PTO (paid time off) bank. We had a customer emergency and called her into work on the Saturday of her vacation week. How should she be paid? Should she receive her PTO pay but have eight hours less of it charged against her PTO bank? Should she be paid for eight extra hours, plus her week of PTO pay? If we pay her both PTO and eight extra hours, do we have to pay her overtime? —W.M.

Cut Out the Age Jokes; Employees Aren’t ‘Antiques’

09/01/2006

Workplace humor is fine until it drifts into the realm of gags about employees’ gender, race or religion. Even age-based jokes can trigger lawsuits. Although few employees will win age-discrimination lawsuits based on a joke or two, such juvenile behavior can take an otherwise marginal case and give it legal legs …

EEOC settles race case over training discrimination

09/01/2006

The EEOC and Jameson Memorial Hospital settled a federal lawsuit that was originally filed last February. The New Castle hospital will pay $50,000 to an African-American radiology technician who claimed the hospital denied him training opportunities because of his race …

New arbitration pacts should cover ‘Old’ job disputes

09/01/2006

More organizations are establishing mandatory arbitration agreements that require employees to arbitrate employment disputes rather than go to court. But if you’re considering such agreements, make sure they contain language that covers events that occurred before you put the arbitration policy in place …