Tag: Policies

Faced with a firing, managers are typically upset and uncomfortable. They want to just “get it over with.” Stop right there. Slow them down, and ask these 10 questions first. Otherwise, you’re likely headed for an expensive lawsuit. Here are the 10 questions BLR® experts recommend you ask before any termination. If your answer to […]

Especially with online wellness programs, corporate branding and integration are essential, says wellness expert Barb Rouleau, APRN.  In today’s Advisor she shares her “top nine keys” to building great wellness programs. Rouleau is chief wellness officer at PureWellness, a leading provider of online wellness programs. She was joined by Ron Keen, the firm’s president, on […]

Wellness is well worth it, says Ron Keen, co-founder and President of PureWellness. That becomes easy to understand when you appreciate that lifestyle is the single largest factor in health, he says.  If your entity is typical, Keen says, probably about 20 percent of your employees have diseases or medical problems that are not preventable. […]

Yesterday’s Advisor covered technology policies in general. Today we look at a narrower area—electronic monitoring—and provide an audit checklist to help you avoid expensive privacy lawsuits. Employers have many good reasons for monitoring employee activity, but they should always remember that there are legal issues involved, with privacy being the most prevalent. In general, says […]

Make sure employees know the “why” behind your tech policies, says attorney Lisa Guerin. Otherwise, they’ll find workarounds that could confound—or bring down—your systems. Guerin’s tips come from her recently published book, Smart Policies for Workplace Technologies (NOLO, 2009). She says that you must explain the policies you write about technology. If your employees don’t […]

Whether you call it “rightsizing” or a reduction in force (RIF), it’s legally dangerous. Yesterday’s Advisor  gave the first five of attorney Michael Rosen’s nine tips for avoiding lawsuits during RIFs. Today, we have more of his tips, and we introduce a unique resource for small HR departments. (Go here to see tips 1-5.) 6. […]

As the economy stagnates, many employers who were hoping to avoid layoffs must now finally consider them. Today’s expert, attorney Michael Rosen, sorts out the key issues. Rosen, a labor and employment partner with the law firm Foley Hoag LLP in Boston, says that any reduction in force (RIF) must be carefully planned and executed […]

Yesterday’s Advisor covered best practices for dress codes. Today, we continue with uniforms and religious accommodation, and introduce a new audio conference that will answer your specific questions about dress codes. May employers require employees to wear uniforms? In general, employers may require employees to wear uniforms, but employers that do have such a requirement […]

Here comes summer and the worst time of the year for dress code violations. Today’s Advisor takes a look at what you can and can’t do with dress code and appearance policies, courtesy of HR.BLR.com’s “Ask the Expert.” Can dress codes be different for male and female employees? Most of the legal problems relating to […]

One great way to understand the importance of a casually written   e-mail is to think about how the jury will see it, says attorney Allison West. “In court, it will be blown up to the size of New Jersey,” she says. Yesterday’s Advisor presented West’s tips for bulletproof documentation; today we’ll look at more of […]