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Employee Relations

Court: Discipline OK if disabled worker makes threats

05/20/2011
It’s been an open question whether Cali­for­nia’s Fair Employment and Hous­ing Act allows employers to punish a mentally ill employee whose disease makes her act out. Now the answer is clear: You can punish mentally disabled employees for threats or violence against co-workers.

No adverse action needed for hostility case

05/20/2011

Think you’re immune from lawsuits as long as you don’t cut an employee’s pay or fire, demote or refuse to promote him? You’re wrong. Employees who belong to a protected class and can show they endured enough slights, insults or other harassing conduct to affect the way they perform their jobs can win a hostile environment lawsuit.

Another reason to track everything: Passage of time makes it harder for worker to successfully sue

05/20/2011

It’s possible that a supervisor might wait years to get back at an employee who filed a discrimination complaint. Possible, but unlikely. The more time that passes between an initial complaint and any alleged retaliation, the less likely courts are to entertain a lawsuit.

What will you decide: keep or drop employee health benefits?

05/20/2011
Most employers are not considering canceling health benefits as a result of the year-old health care reform law, according to two recent surveys. The Affordable Care Act may be politically unpopular, but employers assume that it will be a business fact of life for the foreseeable future.

Sodexo reaches out to engage its employees

05/19/2011

Food service giant Sodexo has labeled some of its employees as “hard to reach”: those who work at client locations or telework from home or whose jobs don’t involve regular use of computers or e-mail. Now it’s offering managers several methods to reach out to them to ensure that they have knowledge, team spirit and the sense of belonging that are necessary to build a highly engaged workforce.

Beat the summer blahs: 9 tips to boost productivity & fun

05/18/2011

As the weather warms, the focus and productivity of your employees can sometimes drift. It’s time to create some fun and optimism at work. Think about simple activities that will help employees feel good and interact with each other on a friendly, personal level. Here are ideas to try:

3 ways to motivate extra employee effort

05/17/2011
In lean times, managers sometimes need employees to go above and beyond their normal duties. Don’t beg and plead for volunteers to step up. Instead, offer three kinds of rewards to persuade employees to give of themselves for the greater good of the organization.

Courts will understand: Feel free to punish differently for misconduct that appears similar

05/13/2011

When companies draft their employee handbooks, they often strive for certainty. Employees want to know what the rules are and employers often oblige with draconian, zero-tolerance rules. No wonder managers often try to apply all the rules equally in all situations. But the smart money is on flexibility.

Use fair progressive discipline and clear documentation to prove you’re not biased

05/13/2011

It happens—employers make mistakes. Under most circumstances, however, those mistakes won’t turn into successful employee discrimination lawsuits. That’s because employees have to prove that both the decision and the underlying facts were wrong and were used as an excuse to discriminate.

Not all offenses are equal–make the punishment fit the ‘crime’

05/13/2011

When disciplining conduct that violates company policies, remember that you have leeway to come up with appropriate punishment based on the specifics of each incident. Just make sure you document the conduct, what rules it violated and why each employee deserved the punishment he or she received.