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Ep141: Q&A – Tattoos and the Risks of Case-by-Case Policies

Send us a textWelcome to another Listener Q&A with The Team at HR Stories! Today’s episode goes into these questions:Can you create a policy about tattoos and piercings?Can we leave details out of the handbook that we want to handle case-by-case?Can a anxiety from a workplace incident be considered a disability and require reasonable accommodation? Support the showOur new book…The Ultimate Guide to HR: Checklists Edition is now AVAILABLE! Go to UltimateGuidetoHR.com to Get HR Right: and Avoid Costly Mistakes. Certified and approved for 3 SHRM Recertification Credits.Join the HR Team of One Community on Facebook or visit TeamAtHRstories.com and sign up for emails so you can be the first to know about new things we have coming up.You can also follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @HRstoriesPodcast Don’t forget to rate our podcast, it really helps other people find it!Do you have a situation or topic you’d like the team to discuss? Are you interested in having Chuck or John talk to your team or Emcee your event? You can reach the Team at Email@TeamAtHRStories.com for suggestions and inquiries.The viewpoints expressed by the characters in the stories are not necessarily that of The Team at HR Stories. The stories are shared to present various, real-world scenarios and share how they were handled by policy and, at times, law. Chuck and John are not lawyers and always recommend working with an employment lawyer to address concerns.

Ep140: Work 32 hours a week whenever works best for you!

Send us a textIn this week’s Hot Topics, Chuck and John talk about the following topics and more:- Companies implementing AI training across their teams- Planned salary increases for 2026 are holding steady to this year. How do we provide value for employees to retain them?- Four-day work weeks seeing a bump in employee productivity and satisfaction. Lumen SEO is taking it to the next level by only requiring employees to work 32 hours per week, whenever works best for them.- Robo-bosses – there are bills being introduced to regulate the use of AI in decision-making processes Support the showOur new book…The Ultimate Guide to HR: Checklists Edition is now AVAILABLE! Go to UltimateGuidetoHR.com to Get HR Right: and Avoid Costly Mistakes. Certified and approved for 3 SHRM Recertification Credits.Join the HR Team of One Community on Facebook or visit TeamAtHRstories.com and sign up for emails so you can be the first to know about new things we have coming up.You can also follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @HRstoriesPodcast Don’t forget to rate our podcast, it really helps other people find it!Do you have a situation or topic you’d like the team to discuss? Are you interested in having Chuck or John talk to your team or Emcee your event? You can reach the Team at Email@TeamAtHRStories.com for suggestions and inquiries.The viewpoints expressed by the characters in the stories are not necessarily that of The Team at HR Stories. The stories are shared to present various, real-world scenarios and share how they were handled by policy and, at times, law. Chuck and John are not lawyers and always recommend working with an employment lawyer to address concerns.

Ep139: Sunday Off – The Cost of Revoking a Religious Accommodation

Send us a textWhen an employee’s request for Sundays off was approved — then revoked — it led to an EEOC case and a costly lesson in religious accommodation law. Chuck and John unpack how one scheduling change turned into a Title VII violation, what the Groff v. DeJoy decision means for employers, and how HR can avoid retaliation, document undue hardship, and protect the company from legal risk. Visit TeamAtHRStories.com to see all of our workshops and offerings to help you feel confident in your HR decisions.  Support the showOur new book…The Ultimate Guide to HR: Checklists Edition is now AVAILABLE! Go to UltimateGuidetoHR.com to Get HR Right: and Avoid Costly Mistakes. Certified and approved for 3 SHRM Recertification Credits.Join the HR Team of One Community on Facebook or visit TeamAtHRstories.com and sign up for emails so you can be the first to know about new things we have coming up.You can also follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @HRstoriesPodcast Don’t forget to rate our podcast, it really helps other people find it!Do you have a situation or topic you’d like the team to discuss? Are you interested in having Chuck or John talk to your team or Emcee your event? You can reach the Team at Email@TeamAtHRStories.com for suggestions and inquiries.The viewpoints expressed by the characters in the stories are not necessarily that of The Team at HR Stories. The stories are shared to present various, real-world scenarios and share how they were handled by policy and, at times, law. Chuck and John are not lawyers and always recommend working with an employment lawyer to address concerns.

Ep138: Hot Topics – Workday is all in AI and Starbucks tells corporate to take their coffee to-go

Send us a textWorkday going all in on AI, spending astronomical amounts of money investing in AI softwares and agents. With AI not going anywhere, what risks and litigation do we open ourselves to when AI starts making business decisions.Starbucks is cutting more corporate positions and closing doors on some locations. Many companies have been able to stave off layoffs by relying on retirements and not filling open roles but in this uncertain economic landscape, businesses are needing to get creative on retention and avoiding turnover costs.A lawsuit against Nucor was brought about by two different employees for race-related retaliation. When the courts assessed the case, they sided with the employer. As a company, the importance of proper and thorough investigations cannot but understated. Support the showOur new book…The Ultimate Guide to HR: Checklists Edition is now AVAILABLE! Go to UltimateGuidetoHR.com to Get HR Right: and Avoid Costly Mistakes. Certified and approved for 3 SHRM Recertification Credits.Join the HR Team of One Community on Facebook or visit TeamAtHRstories.com and sign up for emails so you can be the first to know about new things we have coming up.You can also follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @HRstoriesPodcast Don’t forget to rate our podcast, it really helps other people find it!Do you have a situation or topic you’d like the team to discuss? Are you interested in having Chuck or John talk to your team or Emcee your event? You can reach the Team at Email@TeamAtHRStories.com for suggestions and inquiries.The viewpoints expressed by the characters in the stories are not necessarily that of The Team at HR Stories. The stories are shared to present various, real-world scenarios and share how they were handled by policy and, at times, law. Chuck and John are not lawyers and always recommend working with an employment lawyer to address concerns.

Ep137: Q&A – I need OUT of HR!

Send us a textWelcome to another Listener Q&A with The Team at HR Stories! Today’s episode goes into these questions:What should you think about when creating a lactation space?How do you handle an employee talking poorly about another employee?What is a good transition career out of HR?Can we pre-approve timesheets for someone going out on leave? Support the showOur new book…The Ultimate Guide to HR: Checklists Edition is now AVAILABLE! Go to UltimateGuidetoHR.com to Get HR Right: and Avoid Costly Mistakes. Certified and approved for 3 SHRM Recertification Credits.Join the HR Team of One Community on Facebook or visit TeamAtHRstories.com and sign up for emails so you can be the first to know about new things we have coming up.You can also follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @HRstoriesPodcast Don’t forget to rate our podcast, it really helps other people find it!Do you have a situation or topic you’d like the team to discuss? Are you interested in having Chuck or John talk to your team or Emcee your event? You can reach the Team at Email@TeamAtHRStories.com for suggestions and inquiries.The viewpoints expressed by the characters in the stories are not necessarily that of The Team at HR Stories. The stories are shared to present various, real-world scenarios and share how they were handled by policy and, at times, law. Chuck and John are not lawyers and always recommend working with an employment lawyer to address concerns.

Ep136: Listener Q&A – Should We Pay Them? Is Hiring On Vibes Okay?

Send us a textWelcome to another Listener Q&A with The Team at HR Stories! Today’s episode goes into these questions:Do you have to follow the laws of where the employee is or where the company is?Is it discrimination to not invite all employees to the 401k info session?How can you protect against discrimination in hiring when it can be so subjective how people fit into a culture?If someone chooses to work more than their 3 hour shift, can we pay them only the 3 hours?If we ask someone to go do a work-related task off of company property, do we need to pay them for it? Support the showOur new book…The Ultimate Guide to HR: Checklists Edition is now AVAILABLE! Go to UltimateGuidetoHR.com to Get HR Right: and Avoid Costly Mistakes. Certified and approved for 3 SHRM Recertification Credits.Join the HR Team of One Community on Facebook or visit TeamAtHRstories.com and sign up for emails so you can be the first to know about new things we have coming up.You can also follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @HRstoriesPodcast Don’t forget to rate our podcast, it really helps other people find it!Do you have a situation or topic you’d like the team to discuss? Are you interested in having Chuck or John talk to your team or Emcee your event? You can reach the Team at Email@TeamAtHRStories.com for suggestions and inquiries.The viewpoints expressed by the characters in the stories are not necessarily that of The Team at HR Stories. The stories are shared to present various, real-world scenarios and share how they were handled by policy and, at times, law. Chuck and John are not lawyers and always recommend working with an employment lawyer to address concerns.

Ep135: You’ll never be a manager if you keep taking medical leave.

Send us a textWhen someone goes from star employee to being told that he will never be a manager because they used their FMLA, a legally protected leave, there’s more to the story that what the management hopes to hear. FMLA is not a employment benefit. It’s a right. And in the case of today’s story, our main character’s management discriminating against him for using it can land an employer in a legal mess. Support the showOur new book…The Ultimate Guide to HR: Checklists Edition is now AVAILABLE! Go to UltimateGuidetoHR.com to Get HR Right: and Avoid Costly Mistakes. Certified and approved for 3 SHRM Recertification Credits.Join the HR Team of One Community on Facebook or visit TeamAtHRstories.com and sign up for emails so you can be the first to know about new things we have coming up.You can also follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @HRstoriesPodcast Don’t forget to rate our podcast, it really helps other people find it!Do you have a situation or topic you’d like the team to discuss? Are you interested in having Chuck or John talk to your team or Emcee your event? You can reach the Team at Email@TeamAtHRStories.com for suggestions and inquiries.The viewpoints expressed by the characters in the stories are not necessarily that of The Team at HR Stories. The stories are shared to present various, real-world scenarios and share how they were handled by policy and, at times, law. Chuck and John are not lawyers and always recommend working with an employment lawyer to address concerns.