New hires at SuccessFactors, a software firm based in San Mateo, CA, are required to sign off on a list of 15 corporate principles.

Number 15: “I will not be an a–hole.”

CEO Lars Dalgaard implemented that policy after years of corporate experience taught him that jerks (as we’ll call them) “stifle performance,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle.

As for the harsh language, he said the rule would be easier to ignore without it.

What also makes the rule tough to ignore is that Dalgaard isn’t afraid to enforce it. One time, he took a group of job candidates out to lunch at a local restaurant. Those who weren’t friendly to the waitstaff weren’t brought back to continue the interview process.

Ever worked at a company that needed a policy on jerks? Do you think a rule like Dalgaard’s is good for a company or just an impractical gimmick? Let us know your opinion in the comments section.

How many times have you had to change your company’s dress code to address situations that no one previously thought of? Next question: Does your company’s dress code cover hats?

The borough of Littlestown, PA, recently told a school crossing guard he could no longer where his signature silly hats on the job because they were unprofessional and a distraction to drivers. They told him to wear his standard-issue crossing guard hat instead.

Children called Larry Douthwaite “Hat Man.” His collection includes a 2-foot-tall stovepipe hat, a pharaoh-style covering and one that looks like he has a jet airplane sitting on top of his head.

Douthwaite told WGAL-TV that he wore the hats for the kids at first. But then he noticed the hats helped him be safe because people were more likely to notice him.

After he started wearing his crossing guard hat every day, it didn’t take long for people in the community to notice that his funny hats were gone.

People wanted Douthwaite’s fun hats back. Public support for him was huge. WGAL ran a survey, and 96% said he should be able to wear the fun hats.

“I think they are tired of having fun things sucked out of their life, and I think the reaction mushroomed because of that,” said Douthwaite.

Happy ending

When citizens speak up in one voice about an issue, politicians often listen.

The Littlestown Borough Council voted unanimously to allow Douthwaite to continue wearing his hats.

How did Douthwaite celebrate his victory? By wearing his pharaoh hat on the job the day after the borough council vote.

So, here are some questions regarding this story:

• Should Douthwaite be allowed to wear the silly hats? Do you think they’d be a help or hindrance for a school crossing guard?
• Have you ever had a special dress-up day at work to help improve morale? Maybe Hawaiian shirt day?
• In these tough economic times, should HR allow some rules, such as dress code, to be bent a little bit if it’ll improve morale?

Let us know your thoughts via the Comments Box below.

It’s not unusual for workers to strike to make their absence from their jobs felt by the general public. We just went through that in the U.S. with the Hollywood writers’ strike. It cost us several months of new TV programs. 

Likewise, foreign workers in Asian restaurants in Israel recently staged a one-day egg-roll strike, refusing to serve the popular side dish. Reason: The Israeli government is making it more difficult for these restaurants to employ cooks from Asia. 

The government is gradually reducing the number of work permits for Asian cooks, until it reaches zero next year, to create more jobs for Israelis. 

Restaurants can still employ cooks from Asia next year, but they’ll have to pay twice the average national salary to employ them as “expert chefs.” 

The Asian restaurants are also planning days without sushi and noodles, according to wire service reports. 

An attorney with Israel’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor said, “Everyone can make Chinese food. It’s not impossible to learn.” 

We guess, as they say, the proof will be in the Kung Pao Chicken.

What’s your biggest accomplishment at your current job? (Boring!)

What’s your weakest trait? (They’re well prepared for this one.)

What are your career goals? (Last time I heard that one I fell off my dinosaur.)

When is the last time you bought sneakers? (WINNER!)

You may risk applicants thinking you have some kind of foot fetish, but it might just be the key to uncovering future leaders in the workplace.

Mindset Media found people who buy more than three pairs of sneakers a year are 61% more likely to have the qualities of a modern leader.

The same multi-sneaker purchasers are 50% more likely to be very assertive and 47% more likely to be spontaneous. (Hey, I think I’ll go out right now and buy another pair of sneakers – how’s that for spontaneous?)

The research also uncovered two other traits associated with buying and spending.

Looking for creative people? Ask if they own a hybrid car.

People who pay off their credit card bills each month are “highly deliberate” when thinking through their actions.

Getting back to those sneaker-buyers: They’re also more likely to fly by the seat of their pants.

So if you spot an applicant who steps out of a hybrid and is wearing new sneakers, make sure you ask a question about paid-up credit-card bills. You could be dealing with the perfect employee.

First, a recap of our earlier story. Target security guard Dean Babcock saw a 16-year-old girl trying to steal a bottle of tequila. Only certain guards were authorized to stop suspected shoplifters, but Babcock, a retired police officer, wasn’t one of them.

In fact, none of those guards were on duty. So Babcock worked around the problem and contacted the girl’s father instead of police. Four days later he was fired from the Lake Geneva, WI store.

In an e-mail, Babcock tells HR Blunders this was the first time he had been told he violated any Target policy and that he’d never been disciplined for doing anything else wrong at the store.

The former Target guard says the girl’s father was pleased with the way he handled the situation and went to bat for him with the store.

Babcock says in Target’s policy book, it states that the proper action was to call the parent.

He also emphasizes that at the time of the incident, only one person in the store was authorized to stop such shoplifters. That employee was in a different store receiving training.

And a note from the editor: Once upon a time, I had a part-time holiday season job as an “associate” at a regional department store. I worked in the men’s clothing department.

We knew who the undercover “loss prevention” employees were. One day, I saw one of them bolt out an exit in pursuit of someone who had allegedly stolen an expensive article of clothing.

This was in 1988. Have things really changed so much since then?

Guns, employees and the workplace. It’s a combination most HR pros would probably rather not think about. But some recent cases are forcing the issue and heating up the debate.

Consider the case of the Pizza Hut driver in Iowa who shot a gun-toting robber and got fired. The driver violated company policy, but public opinion has been mostly on his side.

The restaurant’s corporate policy bans drivers from carrying guns, even if they are legally licensed to do so.

Pizza Hut says it believes its policy is “safest for all.”

Driver James Spiers fired multiple shots at a man who accosted him and demanded his money.

Police caught up to the alleged robber later when he sought medical treatment. The robber faces first-degree robbery charges.

Spiers turned himself in to police after the shooting. He’s not facing charges.

Pizza Hut fired Spiers for violating company policy regarding guns.

He is getting counseling and severance pay, but the severance pay is only minimum wage. Spiers won’t get compensated for the tips he could have made on the job.

Many are rallying to Spiers’ defense. State Sen. Brad Zaun (R) is calling on Iowans to boycott Pizza Hut over the firing.

“I think it’s the wrong decision by Pizza Hut,” Zaun said.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) criticized Pizza Hut’s decision, saying the U.S. Constitution gives workers the right to bring guns to work.

And a recent court ruling has come down on the side of another pizza driver who shot two would-be robbers in two incidents within seven months.

Prosecutors filed a misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed weapon against Andres Vegas after the second shooting. Vegas had been warned after the first shooting not to carry a concealed weapon while delivering pizzas.

“Given Vegas’s experience, he has a need for a gun at a moment’s notice,” wrote the judge in his ruling that the charge against him was unconstitutional.

Vegas, meanwhile, made a career change. “Mr. Vegas felt required by circumstances – not only of threats to his safety but being prosecuted for defending himself – he felt required to change jobs,” his lawyer said.

While the issue of delivery people and guns is debated, another fight regarding firearms and the working world is brewing.

Guns in the glove box

In Florida, a new law allows all workers – with exceptions for teachers, those who make fireworks and explosives, and defense contractors – to bring guns to work and leave them locked in their vehicles.

Employees need concealed gun licenses to do this. However, those records are secret under state law, and employers would have no way to know who has the permits.

The NRA says the U.S. Constitution gives workers the right to bring guns to work.

Business groups insist they’ll take the new law to court, saying it compromises workplace safety.

Walt Disney World had searched workers’ cars and fired them for violating company policy prohibiting weapons in parking lots.

Last year, a federal judge blocked a similar Oklahoma law that forced employers to allow workers to store guns in locked cars in parking lots.

The judge granted the injunction to ConocoPhillips and other companies that argued the law interfered with efforts to ensure safe workplaces. The judge granted the companies’ request on the grounds that the law conflicted with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Despite the federal ruling on the Oklahoma law, similar bills that would allow employees to keep guns in their cars while at work are being considered in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia. Attempts to pass such bills were defeated in Utah, Arizona and Indiana.

When it comes to guns in delivery persons’ cars or in employees’ locked cars at work, what do you think? Drop us a comment.

Little Jordan – or “LJ” as we like to call him – has gone missing. Or, at least he’s been missing from his spot on a Las Vegas TV station’s weather reports.

His master, TV weather guesser John Fredericks, knows where he is – in Fredericks’ home.

But why hasn’t he been on air?

Fredericks says LJ “was removed from the broadcast … pending resolution of contractual terms.”

Not exactly, according to a KVBC-TV spokeswoman, who says it was Fredericks choice to take the dog off the air, pending “contractual issues.”

(If LJ mysteriously reappears on air soon, HR Blunders will be tempted to suggest that this is a stunt for the May ratings sweeps, the most important ratings period of the year.)

LJ, an eight-month-old golden retriever, replaced Jordan, another dog who shared the airwaves with Fredericks for weather-casts for many years. Jordan passed away last summer.

So, just what does a puppy try to negotiate in his work contract? Some ideas:

• A personal groomer to do his “make-up” before each newscast.
• Performance incentives for when he gets the forecast right. One bark for rain, two barks for sunshine.
• Station must stock bottled toilet water in beverage machine.

Target store security guard Dean Babcock saw a 16-year-old girl trying to steal a bottle of tequila. The teen had been caught on a security camera just days earlier stealing a bottle of rum.

Babcock should stop the teen, right? But only certain guards at the Lake, Geneva, WI, Target were authorized to stop shoplifters, and Babcock wasn’t one of them, despite being a retired police officer.

Problem #2: None of the authorized guards were on duty that day. (Who made that schedule?)

So Babcock thought he’d found a way to stick to store policy and keep alcohol out of the hands of an underage teen: He contacted the girl’s father instead of police. Four days later, Target fired him, according to wire service reports.

“They fired me for stopping a 16-year-old girl from stealing alcohol,” Babcock said.

Target declined comment on Babcock’s specific case but said they “take shoplifting very seriously.”

Then why were no authorized guards on duty?

Let’s pick on Wal-Mart today. What the heck, everyone else does, including MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann.

It was Olbermann’s comments that got the retail giant into hot water over its attempts to be reimbursed for healthcare costs from an injured, former employee.

The woman’s car was hit by a truck. Wal-Mart’s insurance paid for her care. Later, the woman was able to reach a settlement with the trucking company that left her with $417,000 in a trust fund for her long-term care.

But if it were up to Wal-Mart, it would get that money. The retailer sued to collect the money in the trust fund as reimbursement for the $470,000 its insurance spent on the woman’s care.

Wal-Mart won the court case. That’s when Olbermann jumped into action. He named Wal-Mart chief executive Lee Scott “Worst Person in the World.”

“Wal-Mart is suing her for all the money she has in the world,” said Olbermann. “Wal-Mart, always low prices, always low humanity. Yes, we’re going to keep doing this until Wal-Mart atones.”

Atone, we’re not sure about. But the retailer did relent. It dropped its effort to collect and said it would allow exceptions to its policy seeking this type of reimbursement.

This case was exceptional in a number of ways. Employee Deborah Shank suffered severe brain damage from the truck crash. A week after Wal-Mart initially beat her in court, her 18-year-old son died in the Iraq war.

Her memory is intermittent after the crash. She often asks about her son, not remembering he was killed. Each time, her family has to tell her he’s dead, as if she’s hearing it for the first time.

It’s not unusual for companies’ medical insurance policies to seek reimbursement in situations like these. So was this an HR Blunder? You can weigh in on that right here on our Web page.

However: Combine the power of TV news anchors – not to mention bloggers – who decide to “come to the rescue” of a person in a tough situation like this with Wal-Mart’s initial reluctance to make an exception, and you certainly have a PR Blunder on your hands that will damage a company’s reputation in the public eye.

A U.S. Post Office in New York carries this familiar creed: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

In Australia, they can add “body fat” to the list of obstacles overcome to make sure the mail goes through.

The Australia Post – the Down Under version of the U.S. Postal Service – has increased the maximum weight for “posties” by 33 pounds.

The old weight limit was 198 pounds. Why? Because the Honda motorcycles many posties use has a weight limit of 286 pounds. The extra 88 pounds was for letters.

Now, the Aussie deliverers can weigh up to 231 pounds. The Post will make sure their mail bags are lighter loads.

The union representing mail workers said the old limit had caused recruitment headaches, but the Australia Post denies that, according to a Sydney newspaper.

Those concerned about the safety of the heavier posties on bikes don’t need to worry: Testing shows the heftier riders won’t affect stability, handling or safety.