Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
We have many employment documents that bear a seal or have a signature or a notary’s stamp. If we scan the documents and store them electronically, can we keep (and properly index) only the original pages that have the seal, signature, etc., and destroy the rest of the pages? Or, even better, can we scan […]
After discussing discipline with an employee, we always ask the person to sign the disciplinary form so there is a record that we talked with the employee about the issue. Quite often, the person refuses to sign. What do we do if an employee sues us someday? Would a court accept a document that has […]
My question is embarrassing. We have lost an employee’s file. We just can’t find it. We’ve been able to reconstruct the standard HR paperwork like appraisals. But what about the forms and agreements the employee fills out and signs? Should we give them the paperwork all over again to fill out? If they refuse, what […]
Because of advances in technology, we now have a lot of information about our employees that we never had before. For example, we know where—exactly where—many of our employees are because of the GPS capabilities of their phones and automobiles. Is it an invasion of privacy to ask questions based on that information, e.g., Why […]
We did all of the correct hiring processes, including a background check and a credit report, on one of our employees and later found out that he is an illegal immigrant. He has lived in the U.S. illegally for 15 years and has a Social Security card but no driver’s license or passport. But because […]
We’re contemplating a new policy that will allow many of our employees to work from home several days a week. Before we launch into this program, I’d like to have some clarification on what responsibilities—or liabilities—we have. If employees are injured while working at home, for example, what happens? If customers get injured while seeing […]
One of our executives has asked me to look into employment practices liability insurance (EPLI). Can you comment on the pros and cons of these policies and whether you recommend them? — Ellen M., HR Specialist in Riverside
One of our employees has been prescribed a powerful medication. Can we ask her to take a fitness-for-duty evaluation to determine if the drug decreases her ability to perform the job’s duties? Also, her situation is making me worried that other employees might be in the same boat. Can we require employees to divulge prescription […]
How long should I keep HR records?
Many of our employees drive their privately owned vehicles on company business. We’re concerned about their insurance. Can we make them provide us with a “Certificate of Liability Insurance” listing us as the certificate holder, so we’ll know for sure that their insurance is in effect? Also we’d like to require that they carry higher […]