If you have an employee manual, these are some policies you should have: – Define the workweek, especially if it isn’t M-F 8-5 or 9-5. This can make a difference in overtime calculations. – Establish a probation period, especially if it isn’t six months (as allowed by Montana law). – … Read More
If you are unlucky enough to have to deal with an investigation in your company, one of the first tasks is to gather up all the evidence while it is still available, so that the investigator can review it. Some evidence is obvious: papers and letters, a weapon, clothing. Digital … Read More
Recent trends in Montana and federal law are making employee manuals more important than ever. Courts are reading them in wrongful discharge cases and expecting employers to follow them; businesses that don’t follow their policies are at fault even if the discharge wasn’t otherwise wrongful. Not having a manual means … Read More
If an employee comes to you or any member of management with a claim of harassment, you need to act on it quickly. Even if an employee requests that you don’t do anything about their complaint, you have a legal obligation to investigate it. Don’t wait a few days for the … Read More
There are three ways to think about an employee manual: Required boilerplate that sits in a dusty binder on a high shelf HR stuff that only the back office needs to deal with A management tool that makes everyday life easier for bosses and supervisors The first way will get … Read More
Under both the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and the FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act), an employer can ask for medical certification of a disability or of the need for leave. For a disability, be sure that you tailor the request for information to the specific duties of the job … Read More
Internet templates for employee manuals and other documents are cheap and easy – but they may need some adjustments to work for your business. There are three major reasons an employee manual template needs to be tweaked: It is written for other states, which mostly allow at-will employment. Montana is … Read More
Developing a written safety plan can take time, but there are some quick things you can add to an employee manual, procedures binder, or even job descriptions that can help your employees stay safe. Think about the small, easy things employees can do to prevent accidents, especially slips, trips, and … Read More
In Montana, dogs are often an important part of the workplace, even where they are not actively working. Most of the time, employees understand the expectations for their dogs and no problems arise. Every once in a while, there are misunderstandings about a particular dog and it is helpful to … Read More
If and when an employee comes to you and tells you that they have a disability and need an accommodation, the first thing you need to do is enter into an “interactive process” with the employee. Really, this mostly means talking to the employee about the issues and treating them … Read More