Each year, many employers fret about the loss in time and productivity that they fear will result during the NCAA college basketball tournament. In workplaces across the country, employees will be going online to check scores and monitor how their tournament pool "brackets" are faring. Still others may call in sick in order to stay home to watch the games on television.

But Jennifer Berman of CBIZ Human Capital Services says that employers might want to focus on another potential area of concern: If there is an NCAA tournament betting pool that is being organized or "run" by one of your employees and involves monetary stakes, Berman suggests that you could be exposing your company to an entirely new set of serious problems--particularly if the company is explicitly or implicitly permitting the activity. We spoke with Berman, a lawyer who helps companies large and small adapt safe HR practices, about the potential problems that can result when employees solicit participation in a tournament pool involving money--and what employers can do to avoid them.

First, Berman told us that " depending on the state, unlicensed gambling, such as office pools, may be criminal activity--even nominal wagers." However, she noted that such laws "are rarely, if ever enforced." But as our below exchange with Berman illustrates, there are several other issues employers need to consider aside from the legal status of such pools.

BLR: Let's say that one of my workers has been running a pool from the office for a few years now. The number of participants has grown considerably in that time, to the point where individuals at every level of the company are participating. As an HR professional, I'm wondering if we should be allowing this to be "run" from inside our building. I know I need to do my job, but I don't want to be seen as trying to ruin everyone's fun with no real justification for doing so.

If I'm going to step into the office of a manager who I know participates in the pool, what information should I come armed with in order to convince him/her that allowing such a pool to be run on our property is a bad idea?

Berman: First, the most important issue, in my opinion, is the damage that selective policy enforcement can cause--if you have a policy prohibiting gambling in the workplace, and "wink" at the office pool, then that can damage the credibility of the company's enforcement of other policies, such as anti-harassment and workplace violence.

Secondly, allowing employees to "solicit" participation in the pool, can open the door for other workplace solicitations as well, such as for union organizing.

Thirdly, if management participates in the pool and "encourages" other employees to do so, if someone is disgruntled they may try to make a claim that the company coerced the employee to participate in illegal activity.

Lastly, for employers who comply with Sarbanes Oxley, this conduct, especially if it is specifically prohibited in the organization's policies, could be considered an ethics violation, which, again, if promoted or participated in by company executives, could be problematic.

As for whether it should be allowed, I believe that it's a difficult situation requiring some sensitivity. On the one hand, this is the kind of activity that promotes usually harmless camaraderie and a sense of fun amongst employees--as long as it doesn't get out of hand. To minimize the possibility of problems, I recommend that the company "sponsor" some of these activities; meaning, they can put them on, not accept money from the participants and give non-monetary prizes to the winners. This keeps the fun without the risk.

And, considering how low the risk is, I think it's very good idea to ensure that other company policies are clear, such as for violations of performance and productivity standards, the time and place for promoting non-work-related activities, actions forcing employees to participate, etc. Likewise, anti-gambling policies should be carefully worded or eliminated if pools, etc. are allowed. For example, you may want to specifically include language prohibiting online gambling in the computer/Internet usage policy, along with other prohibited online conduct, instead of a blanket "no gambling" policy. This will likely depend on whether your organization perceives a significant problem with this conduct or is in a highly regulated industry where codes of conduct must maintain a higher standard.

BLR: What other tips or advice do you have for HR or employers regarding handling employee behavior during the NCAA tournament?

Berman: I encourage employers to use these opportunities to further develop the sense of fun and camaraderie that can be so beneficial to the workplace. Instead of making it a negative, use it as a group activity--just take the monetary exchange out of it.

There will likely be employees who still sponsor their own pools but management should really get behind the company-sponsored, "non-gambling" events and stay out of the non-sanctioned ones.

Berman says that some ideas for company-sponsored pools could include donating the proceeds of a tournament pool to charity. And, since pool participants are usually sports fans, she suggested that tickets to other sporting events might make for good non-monetary prizes that would serve as a fun way to promote an NCAA tournament pool.