Tag: policy

Dress Codes at Work

Workplace Dress Codes and Employment Law

Because styles and new thinking about what’s acceptable attire in the workplace are ever changing, HR professionals continue to struggle with dress codes. Expectations of professional appearance differ among, and even, within professions. Some HR pros have found that allowing supervisors or department heads the ability to establish and enforce dress codes works better than […]

Massachusetts Criminal Record Rule Changes Finish Taking Effect May 4

by Tim Murphy In 2010, the Massachusetts Legislature made sweeping changes to the statute governing employers’ use of Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI). In addition to prohibiting employers from asking about an applicant’s criminal history on the job application, the amendments called for additional changes to the way employers access CORI data and how they […]

Juggling Work and Vacation

Juggling Work and Play during Vacation Season

As peak vacation season nears and employees begin jockeying with coworkers to take off the days and weeks they want, employers may be wondering if their time-off policies are fair, simple, and effective or if they complicate work schedules unnecessarily. What’s more important — logging a specified number of hours every weekday, or producing an […]

State-to-State Conflicts in Employment Law

by Mark I. Schickman The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) lists as one of its purposes the creation of a uniform national labor policy. That might have been the thought nearly 80 years ago when the NLRA was enacted, but it is the furthest thing from the truth today — as state-to-state conflicts in employment […]

Untangling Questions About Bereavement Leave

Employers have many issues to consider when writing employee leave policies. Questions such as, “How will time accrue?” “When do employees become eligible for leave?” and “Under what circumstances should employees be paid when on leave?” barely scratch the surface. But when the issue is bereavement leave, employers may feel they have more at stake […]

10 Tips for Your Business’ Drug and Alcohol Policy

Drugs, alcohol, and employment generally don’t mix well. Employers face tricky choices when creating policies that address workplace substance use and abuse while still ensuring they stay within the bounds of state and federal laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Employers must decide whether to require drug testing and then craft policies that […]

NTSB Urges Ban on Cell Phone Use While Driving

Employers have been on notice for more than a year that government safety officials are highly critical of employees using cell phones while driving. The practice is coming under even more scrutiny now that the National Traffic Safety Board (NTSB) has recommended a total ban on the use of cell phones and other such devices […]

Gift-Giving Policies for the Workplace

It’s the time of year when gift-giving shifts into high gear. Maybe a vendor sends an oversized tin of cookies or basket of fruit for the whole office to enjoy. Or maybe coworkers in neighboring cubicles pick out presents for each other. Sometimes a vendor or client hands over an expensive gift to one particular […]

OSHA Says Employers Must Ban Texting while Driving

by Boyd Byers Recently, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced an initiative to combat work-related distracted driving. OSHA’s first point of focus is texting while driving. Audio Conference: Monitoring Employee E-Mail, Texting and Facebook: What’s Off Limits Safety concerns prompt new laws Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of worker fatalities, and […]

FMLA virtual summit provides opportunity to speak with lawyers

On January 16, 2009, all employers covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) will have a new batch of regulations to contend with. To help HR professionals prepare, M. Lee Smith Publishers offered its first-ever, FMLA virtual summit — a day-long event during which participants could watch online, listen on the phone, and […]