Policies / Handbooks

Online reviews: Warn workers to avoid ‘Astroturfing’

11/04/2013

Make sure employees know that it’s not just bad form to write fake customer reviews about your company online—it could be illegal. New York’s attorney general last month cracked down on 19 companies that created deceptive reviews (a process called “Astroturfing”).

5 steps you must take to prevent and address sexual harassment

10/31/2013

In 2012, the EEOC received 7,571 complaints from workers alleging they were sexual harassment victims (17.8% of whom were men) and recovered $43 million for harassed workers. Don’t let your organization add to those statistics. Take these steps to prevent and address sexual harassment.

Vague or nonexistent harassment policy? In same-sex cases, prepare to pay

10/31/2013

Judges don’t have much patience with employers that don’t understand their obligations to prevent or stop sexual harassment, including same-sex harassment.

Draft severance agreements to prevent future lawsuits

10/30/2013

Have a lawyer draft any release that accompanies a severance payment. If the employee sues and the release was carefully written, the court will probably say it bars suing—and may require repaying severance money before the worker can even try challenging the release’s validity.

Save money upon termination by including ‘use it or lose it’ leave policy in handbook

10/30/2013

Here’s another reason your handbook must include clear, concise and specific explanations of vacation and other leave policies: By carefully explaining that employees who quit forfeit unused leave, you won’t have to pay them for that unused time under the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act.

What are the limits on employee monitoring?

10/29/2013

Q. How would an employer legally go about monitoring employees in the workplace?

Employer restrictions on guns in California workplaces

10/29/2013

This month, we’ll examine several questions about how far employers can go toward prohibiting employees from bringing guns to work.

Personal cellphone: Must we pay if it’s used for work?

10/21/2013

Q. An employee uses his own smartphone to access company email and conduct work from home. The work is on his own initiative—it’s not required, but we’re aware of it. Are we obligated to pay any portion of his monthly bill?

Better late than never? No! These tips help tackle tardiness

10/18/2013

Employees who are chronically tardy can cause just as many problems as those who don’t show up at all. Use these tips when counseling a chronically late employee:

Does Minnesota’s smoking ban law include employees’ use of ‘e-cigarettes’?

10/10/2013

Q. We have a no-smoking policy that complies with Minnesota’s smoking ban. A number of employees have asked if our policy applies to electronic cigarettes or “e-cigarettes.” We are not sure what to tell them. Must we ban the use of the e-cigarettes in the workplace? Are we allowed to if we want to?