Last week, NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb issued a lengthy 20-page memorandum (GC 18-04) providing detailed guidance regarding enforcement of “Handbook Rules Post-Boeing.” In The Boeing Co., 365 NLRB No. 154 (Dec. 14, 2017), the Board established a new standard governing…
Employee Handbook & Policies
What Facebook’s Data Issues Mean for Your Employee Data
With the news that a data firm was given access to the personal information of 87 million Facebook users, the ramifications were widely felt. For many, this was a wakeup call about how easily social data can be accessed without…
Avoid EEOC Trouble By Smart Hiring, Sound Procedures and Soft Skills
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) resolved 99,109 employment discrimination claims in fiscal year 2017, resulting in $398 million in compensation paid to claimants. Of the claims resolved, 47% were for retaliation by an employer against a complaining employee. These…
NLRB Overturns Rules On Joint Employer and Neutral Policies
On 3-2 votes, the NLRB Republican majority today overturned two precedent setting cases. One involved the standard it adopted just two years ago to determine joint employer status. The second set aside a 13 year-old standard governing whether facially neutral…
Is an Employee’s #MeToo Social Media Post a Harassment Complaint?
Dear Littler: I work in HR and have a very modern-day dilemma. An employee (Lauren) told me about a social media post by another employee (Jane). I don’t follow Jane on social media, but a few days ago she posted…
How to Have a Recovery-Friendly Workplace
Substance abuse in the workplace is a serious liability for employers. Every year in this country, drug and alcohol abuse are major contributors to workplace injuries and fatalities, plus they drain employee productivity and costs employers billions in lost productivity…
The Exciting New World of Employee Handbooks
Every business needs an employee handbook, right? This contains all those fun legal things like the fact that you’re an at-will employee, that you need to comply with a code of conduct, and what the dress code is (among other…
Drones Are Coming. Here’s How to Be Ready
A new employee may be joining your workplace soon – the drone pilot. “Pilot” may seem like a grandiose name for someone who operates a gadget the size of a toaster, but the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) considers them pilots…
Yes, You Can Fire Someone For What They Post Online
Juli Briskman was out riding her bicycle last month when she was passed on the road by Donald Trump’s motorcade. So, she showed ’em the middle finger. And, it was at that precise moment that a White House photographer traveling…
You Can Take Action Against Employees For Their Political Activism
After white supremacists descended upon Charlottesville, Virginia, social media lit up in response. In the days that followed, several marchers were identified and lost their jobs in the process. As the events in Charlottesville showed, political extremism in the US…
What Are Your Responsibilities When Your Business Traveler Brings Family?
According to a recent GBTA study, more than a third of North American business travelers have extended a business trip to add on a vacation. More than half those taking these bleisure trips bring family members or a significant other…
What Will You Do When One of Your Employees Is Outed Online For Their Activism?
It should be no secret to anyone that political activity and tensions are currently high in the US. And by now, everyone in HR has heard about the Top Dog restaurant employee who resigned as a result of his participation…
Why You Need an Employee Handbook and What It Should Cover
A staff handbook (also known as a Policies and Procedures Manual) is something every company, regardless of size, should have. It is especially useful at onboarding, informing your new employees what is expected of them – and what they can…
Five Tips for Eliminating Workplace Misconduct
If you’re like most human resources professionals, you want to create a workplace where misconduct can’t thrive — and that starts with a strong focus on culture. Most people entering the workplace are looking for a positive, supportive culture. And whether…
What HR Should Do In the Wake of United’s PR Debacle
By now, most of us have seen the shocking video where United Airlines had an unwilling 69-year-old passenger dragged off of one of their airplanes. Many are also aware that United also recently refused to let two teenage girls fly…
IT Fails to Plan; Disney Doesn’t Want You Pointing and Gossip Is How They Find Out
Sure it’s hard to recruit software developers and other tech professionals. There’s just not enough of them to meet the demand.So knowing that, what do you do? You wait until the last minute to begin recruiting them. That’s what a…
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Workplace Benefits
There is a fine line to walk while balancing a company’s bottom line and attracting great talent. Because the employees who work for you are the most valuable asset that your company has at its disposal, making sure they are…
It’s High Time You Reviewed Your Company’s Drug Policy
Over the past 10 years, there have been changes to laws governing medicinal and recreational marijuana use across the United States. Twenty-five states and Washington D.C. have legalized marijuana in some form. Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Washington D.C. have…
HR Roundtable: What to Do About Political Talk At Work
The September (Cincinnati) HR Roundtable was jumping into controversial waters, but the timing was perfect because of the current event that will be occurring in November. The topic was “Politics In the Workplace.” This is one of those taboo topics…
Yes, You Can Ban Political Talk At Work. But Good Luck
Over the weekend, my HR buddy Heather Kinzie and I exchanged emails about employees discussing politics on social media. Serendipitously, a recent employee firing over an explosive tweet — yeah, I know, shocking — provides me with some fodder for you. Nancy…