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Sample Internet Policy Here’s a sample Internet policy you can modify and/or expand to meet your organization’s specific needs. Have your employees sign the policy, acknowledging they understand it and agree to be bound by its terms. [Company] Internet Policy Business use only. [Company] provides Internet access (including e-mail) to its employees to assist and […]
A Labor Department rule provides that when an employer fails to notify an employee that leave qualifies under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, the time off does not count toward the 12 weeks per year the employee is entitled to under the FMLA. Federal courts have split over whether this regulation is valid—and […]
Because employee Internet access in the workplace can raise the potential for abuse and misuse, some employers monitor their employees’ Internet activities. But this in turn raises concerns about employees’ right to privacy. An important new California Court of Appeal decision addresses this issue head-on, ruling that an employee who consented to employer monitoring had […]
For several years, the California Supreme Court has wrestled with the issue of when the employee of an independent contractor can sue the company that hired the contractor for on-the-job injuries rather than just collect workers’ compensation benefits. Now the high court has issued two new opinions further clarifying when you can be sued for […]
Because of recent national events, many employers have been developing or revising their emergency procedures to help ensure that employees can be evacuated safely. One issue that arises is that some employees with medical conditions may need special assistance in an emergency. To help you plan more effectively to help these workers, the federal Equal […]
Sendai Parker, a credit analyst for a Los Angeles area branch of Home Savings of America, charged that her supervisor sexually harassed her at a co-worker’s birthday lunch. The supervisor was eventually terminated. Then when Parker was fired two years later for alleged performance problems, she charged that her termination was the culmination of a […]
When Tarlochan Sidhu was laid off by Fletco Co. following a workers’ comp leave, the union grieved his termination and sought arbitration as called for in the union contract. After Fletco refused to arbitrate on the grounds that the contract didn’t apply to the dispute, the union sued to enforce the CBA. Fletco asked the […]
Data compiled by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission indicate that sex harassment complaints received by the agency and its state counterparts have leveled off. Between 1992 and 1995, the number of complaints jumped from 10,532 per year to 15,549, and 15,836 charges were filed in 2000. The EEOC found no reasonable cause to believe […]
Laura Akers, a deputy district attorney for San Diego County, had an excellent reputation for her work in the El Cajon domestic violence unit. But after Akers became pregnant, she was transferred to a misdemeanor unit. When she complained, her next performance review called her incompetent, inefficient and dishonest. Akers sued the county for gender […]
Frederick Phillips, a social worker for St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in San Bernardino County, filed a wrongful termination lawsuit charging the nonprofit religious corporation with race and sex bias and retaliation. A California Court of Appeal has given Phillips the go-ahead to pursue his lawsuit ruling that although the Fair Employment and Housing Act […]