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Employee Relations

Which of the following issues requires the most work on your part?

11/15/2011
Handling benefits and mediating workplace disputes top the list of difficult HR duties.

4 ways to keep workers happy and healthy during holidays

11/14/2011
End the year right and get the New Year off to a good start with these simple ways to improve employee morale and wellness:

That’s not fair! Equity requires more than fair pay

11/10/2011

Conventional wisdom says that paying employees well goes a long way toward making them feel like they’re treated fairly. Not necessarily. Employees don’t consider pay or salary increases as the top factor in determining whether they are rewarded fairly, according to a new study.

Worried about ADA: Can we discipline for misbehavior caused by medical condition?

11/07/2011
Q. One of our employees recently violated a work rule by shouting at his supervisor. After the incident, the employee disclosed to the company for the first time that he had a mental disorder that he claims caused his conduct. Can we discipline him, or would that be disability discrimination?

Sudden discipline after exemplary record? Don’t rule out supervisor prejudice

11/07/2011

Employees with excellent performance records often head straight to HR the first time they face disciplinary action. And you’re right to worry enough to take a careful look at whether the proposed discipline is warranted. It’s possible that a boss’s prejudice may have motivated the discipline.

Never let fired employee unfairly blame bias; be prepared to prove performance deficiencies

11/07/2011
Employees who have lost their jobs have very little to lose and everything to gain by suing their former employers. Your best defense when firing: Al­­ways carefully document a performance-related reason for the termination. That will trump all but the most egregious cases of supervisory expressions of bigotry.

Don’t let bias complaint stop legit discipline

11/07/2011
Here’s an important reminder for HR professionals handling em­­ployee discipline: If the disciplinary process is well under way—and you believe that the proposed discipline is fair, reasonable and based on facts—there’s no need to stop the process just because the employee files an internal discrimination complaint.

Punish employees who ‘occupy’ in their spare time?

11/01/2011
Q. What recourse do employers have against employees involved in ‘Occupy [Wherever]’ protests during off-time?

Don’t let bias complaint stop legit discipline

11/01/2011
Here’s an important reminder for HR professionals handling em­­ployee discipline: If the disciplinary process is well under way—and you believe that the proposed discipline is fair, reasonable and based on facts—there’s no need to stop the process just because the employee files an internal discrimination complaint.

Solving for the unknown: No duty to accommodate disability that employee never revealed

10/31/2011
Some disabled employees never tell employers about their con­­ditions—even if their disability could affect performance. And of course you know you shouldn’t treat employees as disabled unless they claim a disability. But what if you fire someone for poor performance?