An article in today’s Washington Post reminds us of the place to which tobacco and smoking have fallen.  Although there continue to be smoking rights proponents who advocate civil disobedience, a growing number of municipalities and states are enacting laws that ban smoking in all indoor public places and other enclosed areas.  Employers must, of course, comply with any such laws, and generally speaking, employers have the right to control smoking in the workplace in accordance with written policies.

(more…)

Last week, there was a post called “Handbook Heaven” about the new, somewhat controversial handbook rolled out by the Tribune Co.   A recent case underscores the fact that handbooks can be serious business when you end up in court.  As the summary below from the Illinois Employment Law Letter implies, when you have to go back to a 1968 handbook, you can land in “Handbook Hell.”  Maybe Mark Schickman was right about the Tribune Co.’s new handbook.  Maybe.

(more…)

Dan Schwartz mentions my “Handbook Heaven” post in his blog, along with some other interesting information. 

(more…)

As reported in the Los Angeles Times, the Tribune Co. (which owns, among other things, the Times and Chicago Tribune) has a new employee handbook.  It contains 3,663 words as compared to the former version’s 11,519 words, and it has a “direct, almost jocular tone.”

(more…)

In my post about the impact that the election of certain candidates could have on the workplace, I said that the most important issue receiving the least attention by the candidates is employee or workplace privacy.  In another post about the need to have an Internet use policy to, among other things, protect the company from getting caught up in a child pornography investigation and prosecution, I noted that the federal government is ramping up its fight against child pornography.  In a Washington Post article today, we are reminded that privacy and child pornography are linked from a legal standpoint.  Employers need to pay close attention to both issues.

(more…)

In my post on January 3 on predictions about how presidential politics will impact the workplace this year, I noted how some of the candidates stand on the proposed federal Healthy Families Act.  I subsequently linked to an article in the Columbus Dispatch (January 5) concerning a state version of this act being considered by the Ohio General Assembly.

(more…)

Previous posts have discussed the need for Internet use policies which, in part, deal with the prohibition against an employee having pornography on a company-owned computer.  An article in the Washington Post reports on a case involving a lawsuit filed by a fired former executive against his former company.  The executive claims he was wrongfully fired.  The company claims that it had the right to fire the executive, in part, because he deleted everything on his computer, including company documents and including pornography.  Surprise, surprise.  A forensics expert has found evidence that part of what the executive deleted was pornography.   Both sides have taken off the gloves.

(more…)

In my post on presidential politics/predictions for the workplace (January 3), I noted whether the candidates support the proposed Healthy Families Act, which would, among other things, require employers to give employees seven paid sick days per year.

(more…)

Most employers have some type of Internet use policy that says, among other things, employees can’t use the Internet to view or download pornography, send offensive messages, and engage in other activity that could constitute harassment or other unlawful conduct.  These policies usually provide that the employer has the right to monitor the email of employees and the way in which employees are using the Internet at work.  Some employers conduct routine audits of computer and Internet use.  Why?  To make sure the policy is being complied with–and for another reason as well.

(more…)

Do you give holiday gifts to your customers and clients?  Your employees?  Your boss?  There’s a long tradition of doing that sort of thing.  But with all the focus on ethics in the workplace today, holiday gifts have been called into question and, in some companies, are banned by the organization’s code of business conduct.  Check out an article in the Post on this increasingly difficult subject.

(more…)

My prediction about baseball’s drug problem becoming a problem for all workplaces may be closer to becoming reality than I thought.  Check out the prescient “Infamy or Praise” blog. 

An interesting blog is called “Infamy or Praise.”  I found it particularly interesting because it referenced my post on Drugs: Baseball Workplace vs. Non-Baseball Workplace.  I also like its sarcastic bite.  Check it out. 

Let’s say Warren Buffett and Bill Gates engaged former Senator George Mitchell to investigate corporate America to see whether there is a pervasive drug problem among employees.  After two years of investigation, Mitchell reports that the use of illegal drugs is indeed pervasive.  There is reliable information that Buffett, Gates and other big-time executives have known this all along, have conspired with union leaders to limit or even eliminate drug testing in the workplace, and have allowed drugs to be used because they help employees perform at higher levels of productivity.  Earnings are up.  Stock prices are up.  Executives make more money.  Employees make more money.  Consumers are buying products and services at record levels.  When pressed for an explanation,  Buffett, Gates, other corporate executives, labor leaders and employees say what’s good for America’s pasttime is good for corporate America.  

(more…)

Do you have employees who telecommute?  Some employers allow it.  Some don’t.  Some employers like it.  Some don’t.  Generally speaking, it’s safe to say that employees love it.  Flexibiity.  Stay at home with the kids and still work.  A lot of employees will say, ”With technology, I can do anything from my home office I can do at my employer’s place of business.”

(more…)

Handbooks are, of course, common in most workplaces.  They’re also often evidence in an employment lawsuit, so maybe it’s time to ask a few questions about them.

(more…)