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Short Takes: Background Checks
July 2008
We're hiring maid staff for our hotel. Is there a specific type of background check we should perform? We're looking to do the minimum possible while still being responsible. . . . more
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HR Administration: How Can I Stop Being Put in the Middle Between My Employee and His Ex?
June 2008
An employee's ex-spouse calls me when she needs a new insurance card, forms, etc., for their child rather than contacting the insurance company or her ex. I'm tired of being put in the middle and feel this is something that should be handled between the two individuals. If she had a problem with an issue after contacting the insurance company, I would gladly help--but routine matters, I feel, should not involve me. What should I do? . . . more
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Hiring: Do We Really Need an At-Will Statement in All Employee Documents?
May 2008
We are in the process of reworking all of our selection and hiring paperwork. I'm trying to insist on strong at-will language throughout, from application to offer letter to handbook. But our management is trying to improve retention and wants to brand the company as "a great place to work." They think the at-will language contradicts that image they want to generate. So my question is, do you still recommend at-will language? What should I tell my bosses? . . . more
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Age Discrimination: We Have a Five-Year Training Program; Can We Hire Only Younger People?
April 2008
We have a training program that involves five years of rotating assignments before employees are ready to really start the job. And it is a few years after that before they start to actually contribute significant profits. Because we have to invest so much in their training, can we have an age cutoff, such as not hiring people over age 50? If not, what can we do to ensure that new hires will work long enough to pay off our investment in them? . . . more
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Health and Safety: Are There First-Aid Standards That Apply to Our Workplace?
April 2008
We had an accident in the office last week, and we didn't have a trained person around to attend to the injured employee. It looks like there might be a lawsuit attacking our accident and injury preparedness. In any event, the incident brought up the issue of how much first-aid skill we need to have in the workplace on a daily basis. Do we have to have first-aid specialists on duty? What are our first-aid requirements? And, what liability do our workers have when they render first aid? . . . more
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Hiring: Should We Accept Video Resumes?
September 2007
In our hiring training, we've told our managers to avoid information that is not job related, especially when it has to do with protected characteristics. But we still get a lot of details we shouldn't know about in other ways . . . more
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Orientation: Do We Have to Brief Temps and Contractors on Our Policies?
August 2007
It's the nature of our business that we have only a small corps of permanent workers. Most of the rest are leased, temps, or independent contractors who are with us anywhere from a day to a year. We also get a lot of repair people who are in and out in a few hours. Our question is, what sort of orientation do we have to give these "outsiders" to our policies and procedures? . . . more
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Privacy: Can We Control or Ban Personal Items Displayed at Employee Workstations?
February 2008
We've never had any rules about decorating personal workspaces and never had any problems. But recently, some issues have come up and I think we need a policy. For example, an employee reported that a valuable item was stolen from her desk while she was at a meeting. Another employee complained about a swimsuit calendar and suggestive cartoons posted in a co-worker's cubicle. How do we set a policy that clarifies what employees may and may not do, or do you recommend just banning sexually suggestive personal items altogether? Are there any employee privacy issues we need to worry about? . . . more
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