It’s Monday morning, the coffee has yet to be brewed and already a huge problem has dropped onto your desk. An employee left a voice mail saying he has been...
Q. In a previous issue of HR Specialist, you said that employers can’t force employees to visit a psychologist. Our Internet policy says that if we find employees...
Many employers who have progressive discipline and no-fault attendance programs believe they must stick to progressive discipline for every attendance infraction. But...
Insubordination is a perfectly logical and legal reason to fire an employee. But juries will be suspicious if it looks like one of your supervisors "set up"...
An otherwise good employee is acting out of character, and you think she needs help. Do you insist she contact the employee assistance program (EAP), and send her home?...
Q. How many times should we allow an employee to be late before giving an oral warning? We have a mandatory 8:30 a.m. production meeting. Everyone knows traffic is out...
Issue: If an employee believes a boss's order is illegal, she can refuse to do it. And you can't punish her for that defiance. Risk: You could run afoul of ...
Leaders have tremendous
power to inspire and encourage, but some techniques actually undermine
performance. Here’s Samuel Spitalli’s list of 10 no-nos:
Managers may want to "get tough" on employees who have given them trouble in the past. But, as the following case shows, employees can sue for retaliation if they can...
As part of your performance reviews or progressive discipline process, you probably ask for the employee's signature to acknowledge the issues discussed and actions...
Issue: Some supervisors believe in a "No complaints, no problem" motto. Risk: By ignoring blatant harassment or discrimination, supervisors open the organization to...
If employees' on-site amorous actions are making you or their co-workers uncomfortable, don't be afraid to tell the lovebirds to withhold their romance for more private,...
Issue: If managers "go public" about employee discipline, it could spark an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit. Risk: Jury awards and damaged employee morale, leading to...
Neil Patterson lost it. Fed up with
his employees’ poor effort, the CEO of Cerner Corp. wrote an e-mail to
senior managers that read, in part, “Hell will...
Jane Foster had a tough decision: Follow the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or follow her boss's orders. She went with the ADA and got fired. But a court has...
The city of Chicago fired Daniel Pernice after he was arrested off duty for disorderly conduct and possessing cocaine. He argued that his addiction was a disability and...
The new fire alarm system at Seattle's Key Arena automatically cuts off the public address system so that emergency personnel can issue instructions. When the feature...
Like pesky ants, demotivators can infest your workplace and prove hard to eliminate. They rarely disappear on their own, which means you must take steps to root them out.
