Applies the models of achieved, ascribed, and situational power to describe various forms of sexual harassment. Discusses seven specific reasons for sexual harassment and specific proposals for effective employer responses to each type. (Author)

Reviews statutory and case law on sexual harassment and offers guidelines for policy development in public administration, including defining and identifying harassment and establishing preventive and remedial measures. The bibliography contains 77 references. (SK)

Cites demographic trends indicating that one-third of the workforce will be over 55 by the end of the century, dispels myths about older workers, and offers considerations for personnel policies and practices that will enable employers to tap the resources of reliable, trained, and educated older workers. (SK)

Substance abuse among workers and its interference with job performance has remained constant over the past 15 years. Employee assistance programs educate the public, screen referrals, and provide feedback on how employees are progressing. (JOW)

Today, public services are often delivered by purchase-of-service agreements, privatization, franchising, vouchers, or other alternatives to civil service. Public personnel managers must now deal with broader policy issues, relationships with external organizations, and tighter focus on cost control, requiring new knowledge, skills, and abilities.…

Data on the employment status of persons with disabilities in federal government (average grade level, promotion rates, occupational categories, and earnings) indicate the numbers and percentage are gradually increasing; their average grade level is lower than that of nondisabled workers and they have lower promotion rates. More attention to…

Describes the program New York City created for selecting, training, evaluating, and placing managers. (IRT)

The authors propose that advantages commonly associated with implementation of a flextime system have not been found in flextime research studies. In addition, the role of managers in implementation of flextime is discussed. (CH)

Responses from 446 of 1,283 public agency personnel directors showed that 40% had ethical dilemmas when 2-career couples were employed in the same agency. Most prohibited only supervisory relationships between spouses and offered employment assistance. Reform of the merit system may be needed to stay competitive in the face of this demographic…

Examines the burden of proof between employer and employee in fair employment lawsuits, highlighting related court rulings. Reviews problems of existing procedures that magnify testing as a legal issue, and considers back pay and plaintiff attorney fees as added costs to employers who lose such cases. (Author/JG)

Discusses Chicago's recent adoption of a new personnel system patterned closely after the Model Public Personnel Administration Law developed by the National Civil Service League (NCSL). Describes major provisions of NCSL's model law and relates the process used by NCSL to develop, evaluate, and encourage adoption of the model law. (JG)

A survey of 300 public agency personnel directors received 208 responses indicating that 65 percent have substance abuse policies, 66 percent of those test applicants. Most agencies that test employees verify positive results with a second test before disciplinary action; 85 percent have employee assistance programs. Personnel directors' attitudes…

The liability of government and nonprofit organizations for failure to train employees has increased. Nonexistent training policies may be seen as deliberate indifference. Public sector administrators should assess the current state of training and establish effective policies. (SK)

The study explored the role of a written selection examination in defining composition of the work force while complying with legislative mandates. Results suggest two general choices exist with regard to personnel selection, (1) raw scores or (2) race and standardized scores. Agencies should consider social and legal implications. (Author/CH)

Reports on a study that analyzed change that occurred in faculty personnel policies in selected universities from 1972 through 1973. Notes that significant improvements were made in the areas of performance appraisal procedures, promotion systems, the use of position descriptions, and job evaluation systems. (Author/CH)