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Employee Relations

Are your employees ready for retirement? 6 smart steps

04/11/2012
How many of your retirement-age em­­ployees are just hanging around so they can receive benefits and collect paychecks, simply because they can’t afford to stop working? It’s in employers’ best interests to improve the retirement outcomes for their employees by creating a culture of retirement readiness.

Employee concedes shortcomings? Document it!

04/09/2012

Employees who lose their jobs have an incentive to sue—and they’ll often look for evidence of discrimination to form the basis of their lawsuits. But to win in court, employees have to show they were meeting their employer’s legitimate expectations. That’s hard to do if the employer can show the employee admitted her shortcomings.

Promoted? Judge performance in new job, not old

04/09/2012
Once in a while, promotions just don’t work out. Someone who was great at one job might bomb at another. That’s especially true if the new job involves different skills and talents. Don’t let past performance make you hesitate to discipline.

Employee performance not up to snuff? You must communicate your concerns

04/09/2012
Employers have an obligation to make sure employees know what kind of performance is expected of them. Under no circumstances should you wait until you’re ready to discharge the employee to put criticism in writing. That creates the suspicion that you came up with reasons as a cover for illegal discrimination.

Health insurer CEO axed over affair, arrest

04/05/2012
Highmark Blue Shield has terminated its CEO in the wake of criminal charges that he attacked the husband of a former employee with whom he was having an affair.

Employee sounds threatening during hearing? OK to suspend while you investigate

04/05/2012
Generally, employers shouldn’t react to anything an employee says during an EEOC hearing. That’s because you don’t want to face a retaliation complaint for participating in the hearing. However, there are practical limits to what employers have to tolerate.

Detailed disciplinary records show you’re not biased

04/02/2012
Employers that keep detailed disciplinary records showing exactly why an employee was disciplined are much more likely to win lawsuits. That makes it harder for an employee to argue he was singled out for unfair, discriminatory punishment.

Manager recommends discipline or firing? Investigate before agreeing to go along

04/02/2012

Here’s something to consider the next time you authorize discipline or discharge: It pays to independently investigate management’s underlying reasons for the action. Do that even if the employee in question doesn’t belong to a traditional protected class.

Beware sudden criticism after FMLA request

04/02/2012
Here’s something to watch out for when approving a supervisor’s recommendation to discipline or discharge an employee. If the employee has requested FMLA leave and was previously performing well, be suspicious of claims she’s now performing poorly.

Poor performer? Give examples during review

04/02/2012
Not every new hire works out—including applicants who looked promising or at least competent during the interview process. You’ll want to give the employee a chance to improve, but you’ll also want to protect the company in the event of a lawsuit. Providing a detailed and thorough performance review that includes specific examples and suggestions will help.