The Minnesota Court of Appeals has decertified a class-action lawsuit brought by 4,900 current and former Minnesota employees of 3M. The suit alleged that company policies, seemingly neutral, actually had a disparate impact on older workers.
If your organization is typical, you’re relying more heavily on internal promotions than in the past. And as greater numbers of existing employees compete for coveted “inside” jobs, expect a corresponding rise in the number of failure-to-promote lawsuits. HR people and managers are aware of the legal dangers in hiring outside applicants. But many forget that internal promotions also carry risks.
American workers can access the Internet, e-mail, instant messaging and other forms of electronic communications from anywhere at anytime. While electronic communication helps people do their jobs, it also leaves a trail. A telephone conversation relies on the memory of two participants, but e-mail and IM discussions can be preserved for years to come. And, given the casual way so many people fire off e-mail these days, that can spell legal trouble for employers.
What's a smart HR professional to do when his or her employer is sued and the records you thought would back up management are gone? You can still save the day by locating different electronic or paper correspondence that supports your decisions ...
The Obama administration is stepping up efforts to audit employers it believes are violating federal employment eligibility verification laws. At the same time, it's ending "no-match" letters and requiring federal government contractors to use the E-Verify electronic verification system. Find out the latest on the ever-shifting issue of immigration and employment.
WTXF TV news anchor Tom Burlington has sued his former employer claiming discrimination after he was fired for using the “N-word” in an editorial meeting called at the Philadelphia station to discuss a news story about a mock funeral to bury the “N-word.”
In light of the enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, employers have begun re-examining the cases of some employees who were involuntarily discharged for misconduct. The purpose? To determine whether the employees are eligible to receive a 65% subsidy for continuation of health insurance benefits under COBRA.
Employees have the right to voice concerns and complaints about perceived workplace discrimination. But employers have rights, too. Employees don’t have the right to communicate their concerns in ways that are disruptive, insubordinate or that otherwise violate reasonable company policies. You can punish employees who don’t play by the rules.
Spend any time scanning the world’s 112 million blogs and you’ll find plenty of employees discussing their work. Sometimes that spells legal trouble for employers. By implementing an effective company blogging policy, you may avoid many of the pitfalls ...
One of the managers at our small firm constantly chooses on a whim which company policies apply to her people. She lets the departments she manages have privileges no other department in the company has. For example, they get great latitude when filling out time sheets (which has led to what I consider Fair Labor Standards Act violations). As the HR rep, I hear complaints all the time about this inequitable policy flexibility. What should I do? I’m worried about morale, but also about legal liability. — Louise, Pennsylvania
By now, most employers have heard of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), the proposed legislation that would make it dramatically easier for unions to organize workers and obtain favorable terms in the initial collective-bargaining agreement. Is it time to panic? Of course not, but it is time to take action.
If your organization isn’t already planning or implementing measures to cut labor costs, it may soon have to. News that the United States has been in a recession since December 2007 suggests that HR professionals should prepare to reduce the labor burden—if only as a contingency plan.
HR Law 101: Since 1993, the Family and Medical Leave Act has provided eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for the birth, adoption or foster care of a child; caring for a child, spouse or parent with a serious health condition; or convalescence after an employee’s own serious health condition ...
Now may be a good time to review your employee handbook for potential big trouble. The problem: Because handbooks spell out policies that apply to many or all employees, they can be used to justify escalating a simple lawsuit into a class-action suit ...
Lawsuits by employees against their employers have grown tremendously in the past decade. Sometimes those lawsuits have merit, sometimes they don’t. Here are 12 of the biggest manager mistakes that harm an organization’s credibility in court. Use these points as a checklist to shore up your personal employment-law defense.
Coming up with good story ideas is one of the toughest tasks in publishing a company newsletter. Here's a checklist of story sources to stimulate editorial thinking and help identify topics with high reader interest that help to promote the company.
The Internet has created a whole new pond for employment lawyers to fish in. But you’re not powerless to your employees’ embarrassing—and potentially illegal—online activities. You can discipline employees who go over the line. Here's a recent example, plus five tips to help you avoid legal trouble ...
"We're revising some of our policies, and I came across an issue I'd like some perspective on. We don't have an anti-nepotism policy, but it seems like we should. What do other company policies say on hiring employees who live in the same household? Do you reference whether supervisory employees can manage employees if they both live under the same roof?" — Don
A temporary employment agency violated federal labor law by including a confidentiality provision in an employment contract, according to a recent NLRB ruling (Northeastern Land Services, Ltd. dba The NLS Group and Jamison John Dupuy, 352 NLRB No. 89, 2008). In the case, the agency fired a worker for violating the confidentiality provision ...
Sometimes, when an employee departs for FMLA leave, you’re almost
positive that he or she is incapable of returning to work before the
allotted 12 weeks expire. You might as well start processing her
termination papers a few days early, right? Not so fast, one court
says. If you jump the gun and pre-process the termination—even one day
before the FMLA leave ends—you may be triggering liability …
Some employees have chips on their shoulders—everything is always someone else’s fault, not theirs. They constantly pester supervisors and higher-ups with complaints about discrimination, retaliation and general unfairness. How is an employer supposed to deal with such constant whining? ...
The long-awaited revised and updated final rules of the U.S. Department of Labor interpreting the FMLA will go into effect on Jan.16. HR specialists should read the new regulations and then review them with an employment attorney. Also, they should promptly develop special training on new rules and procedures for supervisors and employees alike.
Some employees have chips on their shoulders—everything is always someone else’s fault, not theirs. They constantly pester supervisors and higher-ups with complaints about discrimination, retaliation and general unfairness. How is an employer supposed to deal with such constant whining? ...
Because of the nationwide economic slump, layoffs are a hot topic these days. What sort of employment law issues should HR professionals consider when the possibility of laying off workers becomes increasingly likely? Here’s a step-by-step guide for smoothing out a difficult and painful process ...
An employee handbook can be the foundation of employee performance and a shield against lawsuits—or it can be a ticking time bomb that confuses employees and strips away your legal defenses. It all depends on how well it’s written and put to use.
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) controls how employers handle employees who also serve in the military. As the following case shows, federal appeals courts are losing patience with employers that don’t know or don’t follow USERRA’s strict rules for reemployment ...
Question: “I will be meeting with upper management about establishing basic
company policies. Some long-time employees come and go whenever and
spend too much time on the Internet or personal calls. It’s starting to
affect morale. How do I convince them that the company needs ‘basic’
policies such as progressive discipline, drug/alcohol abuse, annual
reviews, fair and consistent treatment, etc.?” — Pat
In tough economic times, organizations sometimes have to make hard choices—such as whether to temporarily lay off employees. Of course, you’ll hope to ramp up staffing when the economy rebounds. That’s when you’ll need to be extra careful. If you bar workers you laid off from being rehired, you may be courting trouble ...
Both Illinois and federal laws require employers to let their employees off for jury duty. Additionally, employers may not penalize employees for serving on a jury. No matter how obvious this is, every now and then, employers try to get back at employees who perform their civic duties. It never works ...
When any valued employee leaves, the company experiences a loss. The loss is greater, however, when the former employee departs to work for a competitor and begins using the company’s confidential information or trade secrets. HR has a key role to play in protecting a company’s proprietary information. Here’s how to do it ...
If you’re having absenteeism problems, consider instituting a policy that says an employee who exceeds an absence threshold will be automatically terminated—regardless of the reason. Such a policy can cover absences relating to personal or vacation leave, time off covered by workers’ comp and even FMLA leave ...
The recently enacted Ohio Veterans Package amends the Ohio Civil Rights Act to bar discrimination based on “military status.” As a result, Ohio employers now face new legal requirements on both the state and federal fronts for how they treat military employees and their families ...
Veterans ... gays ... singles ... Christians ... new employees. For years, employees with common interests or characteristics have been banding together in lunch or after-work groups—typically with their employers’ blessing and support. These so-called affinity or support groups are a natural extension of workplace diversity. Now, however, more employers are realizing the potential risks of supporting these groups ...
The California Supreme Court has ruled that managers and supervisors shouldn’t be held personally responsible when an employee wins a retaliation claim under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act ...
Companies often rely on a no-fault absenteeism policy as an objective way to determine who should be terminated for unreliability. As long as the policy doesn’t count time off for an FMLA-protected reason, such policies work well—if you follow your own rules ...
Question: “Some of our employees are stealing from us! Not by taking money or
supplies, but by stealing time. Some pretend to work through lunch so
they can leave work a half hour early. Others conduct personal business
on the company phone or play on the Internet. Or they take breaks to
socialize and laugh out loud, which disturbs everyone else. What can we
do to crack down?”—Louise, PA
While employee handbooks are essential, be careful. If they are worded improperly, they can tie employers’ hands—and may even create employment contracts that remove the at-will status that allow employees to be terminated for any legal reason ...
Q. Is there a rule for docking someone’s pay if he punches in late, and if so, how many minutes of grace time does he get before you dock him 15 minutes? ...
Although Florida’s state whistle-blower law applies only to state government and state contractors, don’t believe you are above the law just because you are a private employer. Rather than ignore a complaint—and risk expensive litigation—you need to establish policies to investigate whistle-blower complaints ...
A construction worker at a rental car facility at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was fired for hanging a noose at the job site. Co-workers discovered the noose when they came to the job site one morning. Investigators could not determine a motive for the employee’s actions ...
Does your organization have a policy requiring employees to retire (or step down to a lesser position) once they hit a certain “unbecoming” age? If so, a groundbreaking $27.5 million EEOC settlement shows that you’d better retire those policies … not the people ...
The U.S. Labor Department, the agency that administers the Family and Medical Leave Act, recently collected 15,000 public comments on the law’s effectiveness. A top employer complaint: productivity problems caused by employee use (and abuse) of intermittent leave. Managing intermittent leave can be vexing, but the law does give employers some tools to combat FMLA leave abuse ...
When union-organizing efforts target a business, managers usually sit on the sidelines. But managers may have sympathies with either side, and their actions could cause problems for either the employer or the union. Your best bet is to rely on professional negotiators and labor counsel ...
Question: “Our administrative employees – fiscal, HR, data, support – are grouped
together in a separate unit and we have contact with the public as well
as potential employees. My question: I feel I’m the only person in an
administrative role who projects any level of professionalism. Some
people wear skin-tight denim capris, tank tops and flip-flops. Others
apparently wear whatever happened to be lying on the chair beside their
bed. How do you recommend – besides being an example (which hasn’t
worked thus far) – improving the professional image of this unit?
(FYI, we don’t have a dress code.)” – Lisa
You have the right to demand a drug-free workplace, but employees also have reasonable rights to privacy. That’s why drug testing and substance-abuse prevention programs carry big-time legal risks if they’re not managed properly. Employers can safely administer drug testing before hiring someone, during a fitness-for-duty test and after a preventable accident ...
A federal appeals court has asked the New York Court of Appeals for help with an important legal question and the answer may impact how you fill out National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) forms when you terminate an employee with a securities license ...
The U.S. Labor Department issued a report
yesterday that said all is not well in the land of FMLA. Shocking,
truly shocking! And we in the employer community thought things were so
rosy…
Employees should notify their employers before taking FMLA leave—30 days ahead if possible. In cases of emergencies or sudden illnesses, employees must let their employers know as soon as is practical. But that doesn’t mean calling in sick or providing a vague doctor’s note is enough ...
HR Specialist editors joined more than 15,000 HR professionals in Las Vegas for the 2007 Society for Human Resource Management conference -- the largest annual gathering of HR pros in America. Following are some nuggets of advice collected during the conference ...
A lost laptop containing the Social Security numbers of more than 50,000 people ... A misplaced disk that contains account information for an entire state ... Your company’s greatest security threat probably comes not from outside sources but from your own employees. To protect against such internal threats and loss of information, you need to take specific measures to reduce potential risks ...
Texas, like many states, makes it illegal to retaliate against employees who file workers’ compensation claims. To avoid such a lawsuit, make sure managers and supervisors treat injured workers fairly ...
Employment policies often must adapt to changes in culture and technology, and the explosion of blogs is one such example. Disgruntled employees often use their blogs to attacks employers, spread gossip about co-workers or even publish suggestive pictures of themselves. Ask yourself the following questions to see if you need a blog policy ...
Q. More employees are asking to telecommute, as are prospective hires for difficult-to-fill positions. If we have such a policy, what should be included to ensure there isn’t any favoritism among workers?
Q. One of my staff showed me an Internet link to another employee’s personal blog, which included racial and offensive comments about our company and employees. Can we reprimand the employee for the racial slurs?
Do you have employees who clock in before their shift starts, then stand around drinking coffee for a half-hour? How can you cut down on this “on-the-clock-but-standing-around” time? ...
Q. Our company pays out bonuses in the year after the work is completed, sometimes late into the first quarter. If an employee resigns prior to the bonus payout date (say in January), do we have to pay that employee the bonus? —A.G., South Carolina
Q. A former employee recently filed a complaint against my company with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging race discrimination. As part of its investigation, the agency will be coming to our offices to interview employees. Do I have to make these employees available? Can I sit in on the employee interviews? —D.N., Colorado
HR Law 101: If it’s been awhile since you last overhauled your employee handbook, you may be courting disaster. You should establish a regular revision schedule and update your handbook once a year or whenever significant statutory or other changes occur ...
One of the toughest tasks for HR is to decide which employees are supervisors. Employers need to know this because supervisors are excluded from a collective bargaining unit for union organizing and voting purposes ...
Ohio employers must contend with an assortment of leave laws in addition to the federal FMLA and the ADA’s reasonable accommodations requirements for employees with disabilities ...
While all Michigan employers with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius are subject to the federal FMLA, they must also grant time off as a reasonable accommodation under the state’s Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act (PWDCRA) ...
Question: Nepotism:
A big word that finally came to me under much distress. I'm a fairly
new administrative assistant, although I think the position could
easily be called something less; just being called that stresses me.
Anyway, I work for a nonprofit organization where nepotism is going on.
It's really difficult to see others mistreated because a family
member works next to them. Relatives work in the same department. Some
people know of the "family affair" but say nothing for fear of losing
their jobs.
The head person is too close to one of the high managers who allows
this, so that person is unsafe to talk to; the HR manager is aware,
obviously, but seems to either act like it's unknown or figures a way
"around" the rules.
Is there not anything that can be done? Do we just live with it or go elsewhere? -- Anonymous
Question: I have a Junior AA working with me who is pretty young and this is her first
"real" job. She is a good worker when she's here. My problem is that
she sits in the reception area and walks in a half-hour late at least
two or three times a week, or dresses inappropriate for a business
office.
While I understand that she's young and a good worker, I don't want
to keep reminding her that working hours are from 8:30 to 5:30 and not
from 9:00 to 5:30. I have tried talking to her about dressing and being
late, but it seems to fall on deaf ears. I have tried to give her
verbal warnings. I'm not sure what to do next. -- Needing Help in New York
Question: It doesn't happen often, but whenever an employee is terminated, we struggle
with how - or if - to announce it to the rest of the employees. It's such a
sensitive issue. How do you let people know without affecting morale? -- Kristin, Seattle
Question: I have been working as an HR and admin coordinator for more than a year and
have been much appreciated for my dedication and commitment, to the extent that
I am up for a promotion.
Recently, a new employee joined the company in the same position and,
although I have gone out of my way to make her feel welcome and shared all my
tips and so much of my experience, when I spoke to her regarding a small issue,
she responded in a rude and loud manner. I tried to talk it over with her and
make it work, but she continued shouting and acting obscene. I approached my
manager about the new person’s behavior, but my manager told me that I have to
be more polite, since I may have come across as rude to the new person, who is
probably sensitive.
Hello!! I was the one being shouted at while trying to be diplomatic and
polite!!
I need advice urgently because I would hate to ruin the relationship I have
with my manager, and I also don’t want to be falling over myself to be nice. I
am, after all, the senior one here! -- Anonymous
Don't treat temporary workers like second-class citizens when it comes to complying with employment laws. Contrary to popular belief, your organization isn't protected from job-discrimination lawsuits simply because the workers affected ...
Make sure all versions of your company policies, whether in employee handbooks, online policies or even offer letters, contain clear at-will employment statements. As this ruling shows, you won't be ...
When in doubt, print it out. That's the message from a recent court decision regarding whether company policies sent via e-mail are valid. Even though the Labor Department has given ...
If your employee handbook or job-offer letters say new hires will face a 60- or 90-day probation period, you should consider dropping that policy or, at the very least, referring to ...
Unfortunately, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) doesn't come with a laundry list of conditions that qualify as disabilities. So what about attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ...
Say you find out that your sales manager is dating the marketing director of your biggest competitor. Or that your cashier has a bottle-of-scotch-a-day drinking habit after work. Can you fire ...
When a city-run youth program hired Cheryl Campos as a counselor, it promised her a $10,000 bonus for support-group work as well as a promotion to assistant director within six months. ...
The summer vacation season is upon us, and that means it's time to dust off your company's time-off policy. Despite lingering uncertainty over the economic recovery and travel safety, 77 ...
Linda Collins' attendance record at work was spotty at best. Her employer warned her more than a dozen times, including four formal warnings. But when she again called in sick two ...
Disciplining an employee who protests working conditions at your company will put you at risk of being charged with an unfair labor practice, even if you're a nonunion employer. Case in ...
If you're not testing employees for drugs yet, some of your best excuses are going up in smoke. New testing devices are cheaper and less invasive than urine tests. Example: Products ...
It's a deceptively simple concept: You have to pay nonexempt employees for every hour they work. But employers often trip over interpretation of that law when it comes to exceptions such ...
Frank's boss asked him to quit wearing his earring to work. Frank refused, arguing that women in the office were allowed to wear earrings. He was fired and then sued for ...
A CEO, an HR manager and an attorney walk into a bar .... If any joke in the workplace makes you think, "lawsuit!", you aren't alone. The laws requiring you ...
John Guz had worked for Bechtel for more than 20 years when his job was eliminated. Although Guz was an at-will employee, he claimed that his long record of raises, promotions ...
An employee handbook can be the foundation of employee performance and a shield against lawsuits, or it can be a ticking time bomb that confuses employees and strips away your legal ...
No employer wants to explain to a court why jokes like "Why beer is better than women" are bouncing around the company e-mail system. But that's the position more companies are ...
Most of my employees are hard workers who keep their priorities
straight. They don’t have time for distractions. They’re too busy
producing results, making money and having fun. But I’ve occasionally squared off against what I call “petty plotters.”
They’re the ones who find ways to avoid their work—from threatening to
sue the firm on trumped-up charges to stretching federal or state labor
laws to the limit.
Most of my employees are hard workers who keep their priorities
straight. They don’t have time for distractions. They’re too busy
producing results, making money and having fun.
