by Steve Jones
Q: Can an employer send an employee who is returning from Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave to a company-appointed physician for a second opinion to verify that he is able to perform the essential functions of his job?

The new year is off and running, but it’s not too late for human resources professionals to make a few employment law-related resolutions that should make their lives easier in 2012.
Sexual harassment policies
Boyd Byers a partner with Foulston Siefkin LLP in Wichita, Kansas, says attention to sexual harassment policies should top the list of resolutions [...]

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 [...]

by Joseph C. Pettygrove
Most employers recognize that there are times when employees have legitimate reasons to miss work, be tardy, or leave early. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to suspect an employee’s stated reason for an absence (or a recurring absence) is a lie. Take, for instance, a worker who is repeatedly “sick” the Monday after [...]

Holy Ferris Bueller! Is it possible that some of your employees are calling in sick to have fun in the sun? It’s hard to quantify how many people play hooky from work just to enjoy beautiful, warm weather, but according to a recent CareerBuilder’s annual survey on absenteeism, 29 percent of workers took a faux [...]

Raise your hand if your business has not been disrupted by the weather in 2011.
In the past two months, large parts of the Southeast and Midwest have been reeling from record numbers of devastating tornadoes; the West Coast had tsunami warnings following the earthquake in Japan; and the Mississippi River and its tributaries have reached [...]

by Leslie Stout-Tabackman and David Fortney, Fortney & Scott, LLC
This article arises from comments on the “Bridge to Justice” program by U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Solicitor Patricia Smith during the panel discussion “The Obama Administration’s Enforcement of the Wage and Hour Laws” at the Practicing Law Institute’s (PLI) “Managing Wage & Hour Risks 2011″ [...]

Almost every employer has policies. The question is, where do they come from? They come from HR, right? But where does HR get them? They must get them from somewhere. And what if you don’t have an HR department? Then someone must have to — gasp — write them. We’re talking about your employment policies [...]

Third of four parts
When bedbugs invade your office, factory, or other building, they aren’t the only pests employers will be feverishly wanting to get rid of. The other dreaded workplace pestilence — plaintiffs’ attorneys — may not be far behind, scratching around for an opportunity to file bug-related litigation for any number of reasons. As [...]

by David M. Stevens
On September 30, in one of its most prolific moves of 2010, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued 28 decisions addressing a variety of issues affecting labor-management relations and the scope of prohibited employer conduct in the context of union elections.