Every year, you probably receive (or help write) your performance evaluation. But have you really evaluated your job lately? Doing a “career audit” is a way of asking yourself: How is my position actually working for me? We talk you through the questions you need to ask yourself.
When promotion processes bypass qualified candidates, discrimination lawsuits are almost sure to follow. That’s because employees can easily poke holes in complex candidate-ranking systems, and supervisor bias emerges when promotions are on the line. If you have set criteria for promotions, make sure you follow your own rules.
You never know which employee is going to be the one who will sue over discipline. But one thing is certain: When she does, you’ll need every bit of documentary evidence you can find to justify your decision.
Not every employee who earns a promotion will be successful at the new job. While you certainly want to do everything possible to allow the employee to thrive in the new assignment, you’ve also got to be practical. When you conduct those initial performance reviews, consider the possibility that the employee will ultimately fail. Here’s how to encourage success, but plan for potential failure:
You’re probably familiar with the legislative fight brewing over the proposed Employee Free Choice Act. That debate has spotlighted a fact many employers don’t realize: Nonunion employers must comply with requirements of the National Labor Relations Act. To help you comply, here are the major traps to watch for:
It's no secret that employees gossip about pay. And it's no secret that those conversations often cause resentment and tension in the workplace. Wouldn't it be great if you could forbid employees from discussing compensation? Don't even think about it until you've read this comprehensive guide to the requirements of the National Labor Relations Act.
Do you “play favorites” with certain employees? Most managers would probably say “no,” but people often harbor unconscious perceptions that can influence day-to-day decision-making and job reviews of the employees they manage. Several factors unrelated to employee performance can impact evaluations conducted by managers.
Do you "play favorites” with certain employees? Most managers would probably say “no,” but people often harbor unconscious perceptions that can influence day-to-day decision-making and job reviews of the employees they manage. Several factors unrelated to employee performance can impact evaluations conducted by managers.
Sometimes, it takes a new manager or supervisor to see how poorly an employee is performing. If an employee who has been getting good reviews suddenly appears to slump under new leadership, don’t jump the gun and discipline the employee right away. Here’s a better approach ...
Supervisors who want to hand-select a particular employee for a job may be tempted to play fast and loose with the company promotion process. Watch out!
The recession has put the brakes on pay raises in many workplaces. But too many employers have halted performance reviews at the same time. That’s a major mistake. Reason: Discharged employees who sue will have a much easier time getting to a jury trial if you can’t produce evaluations that back up your stated termination reasons.
Think your performance evaluations are tough? Try being an NFL quarterback. Bizjournals ranked all 36 NFL quarterbacks who threw at least 160 passes during the 2008 season to see who delivered the most bang for the buck. Last season’s New York Jets QB Brett Favre placed 34th out the 36 signal callers rated.
It’s one of the sad realities of today’s litigious world: Even when you win a lawsuit, you’re seldom able to recoup all your legal fees unless you win big. That’s true even if your opponent is the EEOC and it’s clear it didn’t have much of a case to begin with.
Remind upper-level managers: When a supervisor or mid-level manager makes comments that could be construed as racist or religiously motivated, it pays to act fast. In fact, firing the responsible manager sometimes can be the best way to go. That way, if the employee he disparaged later gets turned down for a promotion or a raise, it will be much harder for an attorney to show a connection between the supervisor’s biased views and the denied opportunity ...
If you develop a reasonable retention policy and follow through by regularly deleting information you don’t need, chances are an employee later won’t be able to say you intentionally interfered with the ability to present a legal case ...
Want to know how to get under the skin of the lawyers who represent employees? Ask one. They won't all cop to what sinks their cases, but this one did. Learn what she fears most when staring down an employer in court.
Some employees are under the mistaken impression that merely asking for FMLA leave means they cannot be fired. That’s simply not true. Employees who take FMLA leave don’t have greater rights than other employees.
If your organization doesn’t have a solid performance evaluation system in place, you’re taking a high-stakes gamble you just might lose. Discharged employees who sue will have a much easier time getting to a jury trial if you can’t produce performance evaluations that back up why you terminated them.
Sometimes, an employee whose job is in jeopardy will try to protect it by initiating a lawsuit intended to intimidate her employer. She may call in sick instead of showing up for a termination meeting, hoping to create an FMLA retaliation or interference claim. Here’s how to handle such tactics.
If an employee suspects his manager of bias, you can’t expect him to go to that particular boss to make a complaint. And you can’t expect to escape a lawsuit if you discipline the employee for going around the boss to report his concerns.
Question: I can’t seem to get promoted, even though I am well-qualified. My performance evaluations are excellent, and I have received numerous awards. The company posts promotional opportunities so that anyone can apply, but the “winning” applicant always seems to have been selected in advance. Obviously, politics plays a great part in these selections, and I am not a political person. I do interact with people, but I just don’t do it with an agenda in mind. How can I get ahead? — No Way Out
Employers that hire outside firms or investigators to conduct employee investigations and background checks must make sure those vendors strictly comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Failing to do so can result in substantial legal risks, including damages, penalties, fines, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees awards.
A former lawyer at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP has filed a lawsuit against the law firm for terminating his employment after he wrote a performance evaluation that criticized another associate and partner.
You don’t always have to promote the best educated or most experienced employee—but you must at least have a good explanation why you chose another candidate.
Claims adjusters may be exempt from overtime under the California Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order No. 4. Reason: They’re administrative employees.
America’s foremost business philosopher, Jim Rohn, says the biggest mistake people make is thinking they work for someone else, rather than themselves. When you pretend that you work for yourself, you’re more apt to take initiative. Here's why.
Q. We conduct yearly performance evaluations, during which we review whether employees have met expectations. If an employee fails to meet those expectations, can we legally decrease the employee's salary?
Question: “We are in the process of conducting annual employee performance evaluations and I am hearing complaints about the form we have used for the past two years. Can anyone provide a source for performance evaluation forms? I would like to get several samples to review so that we can select one prior to evaluation time next year.” — Pam Bowman
You’re as dependable as a Swiss train: You never miss deadlines, never show up late and always complete even your worst projects ahead of schedule. In return, you’d hope management would offer its appreciation once in a while. Here’s how to get the recognition you deserve without looking as if you’re seeking attention.
Every year, you probably receive (or help write) your performance evaluation. But have you evaluated your job lately? Workplace coach Joan Lloyd suggests asking yourself these questions annually:
If you are a supervisor working for an Illinois state agency, there’s a bit of good news on the lawsuit front. You can’t be personally sued by an employee for exercising your supervisory functions, even if she claims your supervision amounted to intentional infliction of emotional distress.
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.
Layoffs are in the news. With a recession looming, this necessary evil is on agendas throughout corporate America. A layoff—or RIF—is a tricky, painful process for management, those who lose their jobs and even employees who remain afterward. Here are four critical and often overlooked RIF potholes that can make the route more treacherous than it needs to be ...
Here’s something to keep in mind when you find yourself having to terminate an employee who may later sue for race or other discrimination. Past positive evaluations and promotions can be used as solid evidence you didn’t discriminate against the employee.
It’s easy to understand why supervisors and managers get upset when one of their subordinates files an EEOC complaint. After all, how can you not take it personally if someone says you discriminated based on race or sex or for some other illegal reason? But the worst thing those managers and supervisors can do is punish the subordinate.
Before you use attitude as one of the reasons for rewarding one employee over another, consider how you will defend that decision if another employee thinks it was based on discrimination. Here’s how to use attitude as a decision factor.
In response to numerous performance-related questions from employers, the EEOC released a detailed guide to help employers apply performance and conduct standards to employees with disabilities. Here’s a summary of the EEOC’s recommendations.
You’ve been fired, laid off, rendered redundant. Yet, no matter what the reason you were released, you never saw it coming. Here are lessons you can learn from a job loss—or prepare yourself for that possibility—so you can more easily dust yourself off and land the next job.
You’d think terminating someone for obviously gross misconduct and behavior that was simply unacceptable would be a slam-dunk. No chance such an employee could bring a lawsuit, right? Wrong. There’s always the potential for a discrimination suit ...
If your performance evaluation is at least six months away, start tracking now the value you bring to your job, especially if you want a raise. That’s according to David Lorenzo, managing partner at The Gallup Organization and author of Career Intensity.
Writing performance reviews is one of the most legally dangerous tasks performed by any supervisor. Here are examples of the two most common mistakes — and how to avoid them ...
When you decide to give employees a pay raise—or deny them one—always document the reason. The key is contemporaneous, logical explanations. Few employees will succeed in proving that your reasonable rationale is really a pretext for some form of discrimination ...
Many employers looking for ways to deal with the financial hardships of today’s tough economy are considering reductions in force (RIFs), layoffs and other forms of organizational restructuring. But how you conduct a RIF may spell the difference between a fresh start for the company and a nightmare of litigation ...
In most states, workers are employed on an “at will” basis, meaning they can leave the company at any time. Conversely, employers typically retain the right to terminate workers at any time for any legal, nondiscriminatory reason. Courts continue to chip away at the at-will doctrine, providing less flexibility to employers. This has led to an increase in wrongful discharge lawsuits ...
An important—but often overlooked—step in performance appraisals is to ask employees to grade themselves. But don't just give them the same appraisal form used by supervisors. Instead, use a separate form that allows them to recap their achievements, identify shortcomings and initiate discussions regarding their development. A good self-evaluation form asks these three core questions ...
Failing to effectively communicate with your employees isn’t just bad
for business. It also can create a work environment that’s ripe for
legal trouble.
It isn’t enough to fix discrimination and end harassment when you find out about it. Under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) your organization has a duty to prevent it ...
Employment terminations fall into several categories. Whether the situation involves new hires who didn’t work out, firings for cause or performance issues, or voluntary resignations, terminations often lead to litigation. For each type of termination, there are some common ways employers can make sure they can defend themselves if challenged ...
There’s no such thing as a completely objective performance evaluation. It’s impossible to totally eliminate manager subjectivity. That can become a legal problem when, for example, a poorly rated employee is promoted over a minority. Increased subjectivity is one of the main reasons employers should consider turning to performance evaluation software ...
When an employee sues over an alleged discriminatory firing, courts typically make a beeline for one piece of evidence: the employee’s performance evaluation. The problem: Supervisors are notorious for giving overly kind evaluations, even to poor performers. That’s why it’s wise to get another opinion: the employee’s own ...
I thought we’d all learned our lessons from misguided politicians
and CEOs to quit exchanging e-mails that are loaded with evidence of
discrimination. Apparently for some, the lesson isn’t over until it’s
learned the hard way …
HR can waste lots of time and energy hounding supervisors to complete their performance reviews. Choose the best mix of incentives and penalties to inspire managers to do reviews right and on time ...
Question: Employers often feel cornered when poor-performing employees take
job-protected FMLA leave. Can you terminate such employees while
they’re out on leave? It often comes down to one question: How well
have you documented the poor performance? …
By all means, supervisors and managers should build a strong case for discharging a poorly performing employee before issuing a pink slip. However, they must make sure their motivations for compiling a record of poor performance are legitimate—not just fishing expeditions designed to look for excuses to fire ...
There’s no point in completing performance evaluations and suggesting areas in which employees could improve if no one follows up. The best approach is to schedule an interim review for an employee who needs improvement. Then tell him what he needs to do before the next review ...
Employment terminations fall into several categories. Whether the situation involves new hires who didn’t work out, firings for cause or performance issues, or voluntary resignations, terminations often lead to litigation. For each type of termination, there are some common ways employers can make sure they can defend themselves if challenged ...
Question: "We’re in the process of looking for human resource information systems
(HRIS) software. We need to track training, salary increases, EEOC data
and performance evaluations among other things. Any suggestions on what
to look for? What type of HRIS software do you use? Would you recommend
it? What about cost? Is off-the-shelf software adequate, or is it
better to have it customized?"—Hilda, Florida
The quality of your performance evaluation process—whether it is objective or subjective—can determine how a discrimination lawsuit turns out. Handle evaluations improperly, and a case can linger for months. Do it the right way, and the case may be dismissed immediately ...
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has just expanded employee rights in alleged sexual harassment cases. The court has ruled that sexually explicit language that tends to demean women can be the basis of a sexual harassment and hostile work environment claim even if the language is not aimed at a particular woman ...
Poor communications with employees isn’t just bad for business. It also creates a work environment that’s ripe for legal trouble. Stay out of the courtroom by taking time to explain your actions and make the workplace seem rational to employees. Here's how.
Employees who file discrimination complaints can claim retaliation if they can show that their employers took actions that would dissuade reasonable employees from complaining in the first place. But employees who constantly file complaints probably won’t be able to show retaliation for all but the most egregious punishments. Here’s why ...
Lisa Cristia worked as a massage therapist and later as a department manager for Red Door Spa in Chicago. She was fired for breaching the company’s rules of conduct, including using her position as a manager to coerce and harass employees. Cristia sued, alleging disability discrimination ...
Discrimination cases typically have two stages. First, the employee must show that he is a member of a protected class, was qualified for the job he held, suffered an adverse employment action and a similarly situated person not in the same protected class was treated more favorably. Some federal trial judges recently construed the “similarly situated” standard very restrictively ...
Nowadays, many employees who file discrimination complaints follow up later with retaliation claims. That doesn’t mean employers have no power to manage the workplace after an employee files a discrimination complaint. The key is to be levelheaded, reasonable and fair, especially at evaluation time. You aren’t required to reward discrimination complaints with inflated evaluations ...
Question: “I am part of a team of assistants for a dozen bosses. We all sit near
each other with a lead member, an intermediate and a junior. I am the
junior member. The intermediate member acts like she is very busy with
her assignments, however, she constantly asks me to take over her tasks
because she states that she is too busy. I have plenty of assignments
myself, but I am hungry to learn more. So I have accepted some of
these requests. It is becoming burdensome to continue picking up her
work. How can I communicate this to her without sounding like I am not
a team player?” — Jeani Easterly
A California District Court has given preliminary approval to a proposed $16 million settlement by Manhattan financial firm Morgan Stanley with a group of black and Latino financial advisors in its global wealth-management group ...
When an employee sues for an alleged discriminatory firing, the court will want to see the employee’s evaluation. A sterling evaluation and high praise quickly cast doubt on a termination supposedly based on poor performance. How, then, can you encourage honest evaluations?Have employees identify their own weaknesses and address those in their performance evaluations ...
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 ...
Harassment and retaliation claims are on the rise in workplaces across the country. Some cases are legitimate, but many are not. They’re brought by employees seeking to have a court rule on trivial workplace disputes that have no sufficient factual or legal basis. Now there’s a ray of hope for employers that have been victimized by such frivolous lawsuits ...
A counselor for the Hillsborough County Children’s Services Department (CSD) lost her disability discrimination case against the county in U.S. District Court for the Middle District in Tampa ...
The time to prepare for a discharge lawsuit is long before it’s filed. Know that someday, someone will sue you. Prepare accordingly. You won’t know who will sue, or what protected class they will belong to, so you should cover all your bases. That means tracking the progress of every employee and every disciplinary action you take, no matter who the employee is ...
Do you suspect an employee may have a mental or psychological disability that may need accommodation—even though he hasn’t mentioned it? Tread carefully. If you assume the employee is disabled and he’s not, he’ll be able to sue you for regarding him as disabled. Here’s the best way to handle the matter ...
Sexual harassment cases continue to plague employers. Whether the harassment allegations involve a co-worker or a supervisor, the bottom line is simple: You need a two-part defense ...
Question: “I was offered a promotion seven months ago to a newly created position
with new responsibilities and a salary increase. Originally, five
people did the job, and now it is just me. One area is very fast-paced
and involves registering patients and answering a constantly ringing
telephone with people wanting appointments. The second area involves
faxing patient documents. The third area involves detailed billing
responsibilities. I can accomplish all three roles, but I’m not doing
it efficiently. I recently received a good evaluation and another
salary increase.
I feel overwhelmed and that I am never completely
done. I have spoken to my supervisor about the magnitude of the job.
The response was ‘I understand and I will see what I can do.’ How
should I handle this? Should I move on? Am I not giving myself enough
time?”— LEW in crisis
Good news for public school employers: Employees who allege they have been discriminated against under the New York Executive Law have just one year to start litigation—as specified in the New York Education Law. Most other employees have three years to mull over their lawsuit options ...
Employers can’t discriminate against employees because of their honestly held religious beliefs. On the other hand, those religious beliefs don’t give employees the right to alter their jobs based on those beliefs. This is especially true for public employees who might expose their agencies to First Amendment establishment clause litigation ...
Alyssa Ogden, former aide to Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin White, says she was fired because she rebuffed numerous sexual advances since she joined White’s staff in April of 2007. She filed an EEOC complaint ...
Nothing will send a discrimination case to trial faster than obvious unequal treatment of employees. That’s why it is important to have someone in HR do a complete review before the company discharges someone for poor performance or rule violations ...
If your company’s business strategy includes promotion from within and constant innovation, unambitious employees may serve as poor role models. You may, in fact, want to ease them out in favor of new employees. Before you do, consider ways to light a fire under the feet of complacent employees. Here’s why this is crucial ...
Question: “I have been asked to locate or create industry productivity standards
for my administrative support staff. How do I measure productivity for
people whose job duties change daily?” — Jennifer Woodson
As baby boomers age, more Americans say they expect to keep working longer than their parents did. That means more older job applicants—and more age-related lawsuits. Defend against this coming onslaught by taking extra care to document your disciplinary decisions to make sure age isn’t a factor ...
You probably heard about last month’s big $11.6 million sexual harassment verdict against former basketball star and New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas. The bad news: Your employees heard about it, too … and it planted a seed in their minds. Will they see your organization’s pockets as the path to a similar windfall? ...
Question: The company I work for had an office/staff restructuring about a year
ago. I was hired as the office administrator. My boss is also new. He
tells me that as an administrator, I should administrate. When I do, he
doesn’t back me up and inevitably he goes in the opposite direction and
has me jump through hoops only to end up right back where I started.
I’ll
say, “the sky is blue.” He’ll say, "No ... the sky is green, and why
don't you study up on the green sky and get back to me on why it is
green." Then he’ll come back a week later and say “the sky is blue” and
a week later ask me how the “green sky” is going. How should I
tactfully and professionally tell him I’m frustrated and it affects the
way I get things done? I am very confident in how I do my job, but to
be honest, there are times when I'll question if the sky really is
green. — Paula
Performance appraisals are valuable tools to help put struggling employees back on track. But a low rating also can spur poor performers to consider legal action: Many discrimination suits have been launched on the wings of a poor performance appraisal. Fortunately, employers with solid appraisal systems usually have built-in defenses against such charges ...
The sooner you resolve lawsuits, the better. That’s why it’s important to anticipate problems and plan for them. Take, for example, employee records. If you can easily produce statistical information on the race, sex, age or other protected characteristics of your employees, you often can persuade an attorney fishing for a lawsuit that the waters are empty.
Everybody knows the workplace is supposed to be free of all forms of harassment. Everybody also realizes that’s the platonic ideal. The good news is that, with vigilance, you’ll protect your organization from sexual-harassment lawsuits because any harassment that surfaces won’t be pervasive and severe ...
You’ve probably heard
about this week’s big $11.6 million sexual harassment verdict against
former basketball star and New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas. The bad
news: Your employees heard about it, too … and it planted a seed in
their minds ...
Employers nationwide breathed a sigh of relief when the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that employees must promptly bring discrimination claims. But the decision in the Ledbetter case isn’t as simple as press coverage may have suggested. In fact, any move a supervisor makes that could be interpreted as retaliation for the earlier, expired claim may be seen as retaliation for earlier complaints ...
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act bars employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. In fact, the law clearly states, “Freedom from employment discrimination on account of sexual orientation is a civil right.” Make sure supervisors know: Comments about an employee’s sexual orientation simply aren’t appropriate in the workplace. They’ll lead to trouble ...
Question: “I need to set up a scheduling/tracking calendar for conducting
performance appraisals, so I’ll know when each employee’s appraisal is
due. Any ideas?” —Anonymous
A California Superior Court jury recently awarded a city firefighter $6.2 million in a lawsuit claiming race discrimination, sex discrimination, harassment and retaliation under the Fair Employment and Housing Act ...
Performance evaluations are important tools to help employers gauge whether employees are performing at expected levels. They can help organizations spot talent and leadership potential, while identifying areas where employees need extra training and support. Evaluations also can protect employers from frivolous lawsuits filed by employees who claim they’ve been demoted, fired or otherwise unfairly treated when the real reason was poor performance ...
The House voted last week to reverse a three-month-old U.S. Supreme Court decision that set a strict time limits for filing pay-discrimination claims. Do you have to worry about this bill winning final approval? Here's the answer ...
Disabled employees are entitled to reasonable accommodations, including the elimination of nonessential functions. But what if an employee is functioning at a lower level than the job requires? ...
Has an employee filed an EEOC discrimination complaint? If so, you should know that his or her attorney has probably encouraged that employee to look for any sign of retaliation—like a lowered performance evaluation, a demotion or closer scrutiny. Often, attorneys want to bolster their clients’ claims with tales of retribution. That doesn’t mean you should change the way you treat the employee ...
Too many managers and supervisors offer unsolicited advice to employees who’ve filed discrimination complaints. The suggestions usually include being more of a “team player” and “not rocking the boat.” Tell managers such “helpful” career tips can backfire badly ...
Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court made it easier to charge retaliation for complaining about alleged discrimination, the courts have been flooded with new cases probing the limits of the ruling. The new test is whether an employer’s action would “dissuade a reasonable worker from making or supporting a charge of discrimination”...
If your organization is like many, someone in HR ultimately decides whether to terminate an employee for poor performance based on supervisor recommendations and supporting documents, such as performance reviews. That can spell trouble if there’s more going on than meets the eye ...
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act makes it illegal to retaliate against employees who complain about discrimination. Ordinarily, employees must show a strong time-related connection between their initial complaint and the alleged retaliation. However, employees can file years later if they can show that the individual who allegedly retaliated waited until he was in a position to order a payback ...
HR can waste lots of time and energy hounding supervisors to complete their performance reviews. Choose the best mix of incentives and penalties to inspire managers to do reviews right and on time ...
If you’re part of a new management team bent on improving overall performance, don’t let lawsuit fears keep you from imposing higher standards on inherited staff ...
When it’s time to decide on promotions, do you send employees’ personnel files over to a supervisor or hiring committee to help make the decisions? Make sure the files don’t contain references to past discrimination claims or investigations. Otherwise, you could be inviting a passed-over candidate to sue for retaliation ...
Q. We do yearly performance evaluations, during which we review whether employees have met the expectations we laid out during the previous review. If these expectations were not met, can we legally decrease the employee's salary as punishment? —A.L., Iowa
Since when is a
manager’s mere “concern” over a disabled employee’s ability to do the
job enough justification to terminate? Try never. In the dictionary,
“concern” is synonymous with “worry” and “fear.” So, a manager who is
wringing his hands with potential concerns about an ADA-protected
employee’s performance may soon have bigger things to be concerned with
... like a federal lawsuit.
HR Law 101: Your employee handbook should include statements on these topics: a welcoming letter from the CEO, rules and procedures, your employment policies, compensation and benefits, safety and health rules, an affirmative action statement and an acknowledgment receipt form ...
Q. I keep on file each employee's application, résumé, performance evaluations and any other praise or disciplinary records. Do I need to provide my employees with access to their files? And, if so, do I have to show them everything? —S.K., New Hampshire
Q. Our CEO just implemented a new employee evaluation goal based on their volunteer work throughout the year. The more they volunteer, the higher the points they receive on their review, ultimately increasing their salary. Can we do this without risk? —T.M., Maine
When the U.S. Supreme Court opens its new term on Oct. 2, look for a clear theme to the employment-related cases it has chosen to address: the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ...
Hold onto those performance evaluations and internal memos that justify pay decisions a little longer. This is not the time to do a massive purge of employee files. Reason: An important U.S. Supreme Court case will decide how much time employees have to file charges alleging pay discrimination ...
HR Law 101: Make it your policy never to hire a candidate without a reference/background check. Your organization could be held liable for “negligent hiring” or “failure to warn” should the employee turn violent on the job. If the employee’s past history would have revealed a problem but you didn’t spot it because you didn’t check, the courts will say you “should have known.” Your firm not only might have to pay damages but also would suffer a loss of reputation ...
In Pennsylvania, employers must allow employees (or their designated agents) to inspect their personnel files upon reasonable request. The law applies only to actual employees, not to ex-employees or applicants who want to look at their application files ...
Question: I am the
executive assistant of a medium-size, 24-hour-operation, family-run
healthcare company; this is my eighth year of working here.
Recently, the HR manager and I decided to change the format and
distribution process of our corporate newsletter from once a week to
once a month and from offline (print copies) to online (as all of our
employees now have e-mail accounts). We've found that this saves paper,
time and money for the company and that many members of management
prefer to receive it this way.
We've also upgraded the quality, going from a two-page black &
white publication with ho-hum, everyday news to a snazzy-color
Microsoft Publisher newsletter complete with insightful articles about
employees (including a monthly spotlight feature), corporate teamwork
(quoted articles from sites like monster.com), and, of course the
regular content (anniversaries, employees of the month, notes from the
different divisions announcing meetings, kudos for a job well done,
etc.).
We've also posted the newsletter on our Web site and e-mail out a
link to all employees so they can read it whenever they want or
download copies. Employees get every-day access to their e-mail
accounts both at work and via Web mail when home.
The problem is, despite all our efforts, we've gotten the impression
that no one is reading it. It's really important that people DO read it
because it contains important information about mandatory procedure
changes, meetings and the like.
Management wants the newsletter to keep being published, and we
enjoy putting it together. We've tried putting in a monthly contest to
get people to read the newsletter all the way through, but the rate of
response is tremendously low, and we're finding that many people simply
aren't checking their e-mail.
Short of going back to print copies (which we've left out for people
to read ... which just get left out), and stuffing 250 copies of the
newsletter into 250 paychecks once a month, what other ideas have other
admins come up with to interest people in reading your corporate
newsletter?
Feedback is much appreciated! -- Frustrated in Upstate N.Y.
Question: Recently, we rearranged various departments within our small company due to workload.
One department in particular has had one person handling it very
well for about four years. The person has been with the company for
eight years.
We now have restructured this department to have two employees working together to handle the increase in work.
The person moving into this second position has been with the
company for 17 years and has been in many different departments over
those years. This individual is a good, loyal, committed worker but
works at a slow pace, having performed well in some positions and
struggled in others.
The department procedures have been rethought, and both individuals
will be doing the same job, providing coverage for when either one is
out of the office. No seniority has been created for this department.
Both have the same job title.
They are team players and have worked well together in the past. We believe both can handle the department's new format.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to handle compensation for
these individuals? Length of time with the company and length of time
in this particular department pose challenges: The 17-year employee
recently requested a raise in pay beyond her normal review using her
length of employment as the reason.
Should length of employment be considered when determining
compensation, or should performance in the position be the primary
consideration? -- DFL, Pennsylvania
Question: I wish to start a monthly meeting to include as many of the Administrative
Assistants throughout the organization as possible. Does anyone have
any hints on if monthly meetings are a good idea, if one hour is enough
time, etc.?
I envision these meetings not only building relationships among all
the assistants, but also giving all assistants an idea of what each
area is currently working on and, if they're working on similar
projects, allowing them to share feedback. Also, they can update one
another on any major process changes in their departments. (We have a
problem with one unit deciding to disband some information that is
needed for reports, not aware that other departments are counting on it
all being located in one place.) -- Wisconsin
Question: I'm looking for suggestions on "measurable goals" or SMART
(specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based) goals for
administrative professionals.
Question: Has anyone put together a group program for the administrative assistants
at their company to promote communication, education, training, etc? I
have been asked to organize a quarterly meeting and I need a starting
point. If anyone has done this and has suggestions or ideas, I would
greatly appreciate the help! -- Anonymous
Question: Has anyone put together a group program for the administrative assistants
at their company to promote communication, education, training, etc? I
have been asked to organize a quarterly meeting and I need a starting
point. If anyone has done this and has suggestions or ideas, I would
greatly appreciate the help! -- Anonymous
In severance agreements, employers typically require employees to sign promises not to file employment-related lawsuits. But don't try to include FMLA rights in that waiver. Why? A new ruling ...
School principal Lorraine Monroe had finished a half-hour performance evaluation when the employee stood, paused and said: “I just want to say that if you pass my classroom and see me staring
out the window and not teaching, don’t be upset. It’s just that my
husband stole my three children yesterday, and I don’t know where he
took them.” Monroe sat the woman back down. After a long pause to collect her thoughts, here’s what she said:
Make sure your employee evaluation process includes clear-cut instructions and guidance for managers on how to link performance with compensation. Reason: A new court decision says that giving employees a ...
Issue: Some supervisors believe in a "No complaints, no problem" motto. Risk: By ignoring blatant harassment or discrimination, supervisors open the organization to "negligent supervision" lawsuits. Action: Educate supervisors ...
Thorough background checks can help you defeat any negligent hiring claim. But what if applicants' background checks come up clean, yet they begin displaying troublesome behavior at your workplace. In ...
Alert managers that they can't demote, fire or retaliate in any way against employees simply because they ask you to accommodate their physical ailments. That advice holds true even if employees ...
When making the tough call about who receives a layoff notice (and defending that decision in court), rely on more than one evaluation tool. Why? Overly rosy performance evaluations are ...
Issue: Maintaining personnel files is a chore, but it's the most important element in defending lawsuits and regulatory claims. Risk: Failing to organize your files correctly exposes you to civil ...
THE LAW. Maintaining personnel files can be a chore, but it's the most important element in defending against claims from employees, ex-employees and regulators ...
Lisa Russell was rated "excellent" and received a bonus of $807. So what's her gripe? An African-American co-worker received a higher rating of "outstanding" and a bonus of $1,355. Russell, who ...
Cathy Collings wanted to fire one of her employees, a state social worker, because he refused to license homosexuals as foster parents. The worker said that his religious beliefs prevented it. ...
Your performance evaluation system probably isn't "meeting expectations" and may "need improvement." One of the biggest problems: grade inflation. Managers routinely give employees higher marks than their performance warrants. As ...
The Export-Import Bank reassigned several employees in the early 1990s, and Regina Brown wasn't happy about it. The 50-year-old black senior loan officer filed suit, claiming her transfer to what ...
Q. For seven years, I’ve worked for a small construction company. To
ensure advancement, I attended college at night to get an accounting
degree. My boss recently told me that I have not stepped up to the
plate to make any real contributions.
My boss has promoted me, and I
now manage five people. He wants me to do performance evaluations, but
I have no idea what these employees’ salaries are.
