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Employee Relations

SC Johnson employees stick around for 14 years

03/07/2011

The average tenure of an SC Johnson employee is 14 years, a longevity marker the organization attributes to its employee benefits. Employees are offered child care, telecommuting, compressed workweeks, job sharing and fitness facilities.

Improve Your E-Mail Efficiency

03/03/2011
Billions of e-mail messages are sent each day, but one study estimates that the average employee wastes more than 40 minutes a day on worthless e-mail. That doesn’t even include the jokes your friends and family forward and the unnecessary messages your colleagues copy to everyone in the office. Here’s how you can trim the time you spend on e-mail.

Dirty Dozen: 12 manager mistakes that spark lawsuits

03/03/2011
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When disciplining, rely on employee’s initial confession

02/25/2011

When you confront an employee about a mistake or rule violation, she’ll probably offer some sort of quick explanation. She won’t have had time to come up with a million excuses. If her immediate response amounts to a confession she broke a rule, it’s entirely reasonable to act on that.

Managing employees in remote locations? Insist they follow the rules, just like everyone else

02/25/2011

As more and more employees work from locations away from the main office, employers are finding it challenging to manage their workforces. In some cases, that may be so difficult that it doesn’t seem worth having remote workers, especially when an employee tries to take advantage of the distance and begins to ignore the rules. Don’t let that happen.

Be ready to explain male/female pay differences

02/25/2011

The Equal Pay Act requires the same pay for women and men doing the same work under similar working conditions and requiring equal skill, effort and responsibility. But the law provides several ways for employers to defend pay disparities. Wage differences can be justified if they are based on a seniority or merit system, or vary depending on the quantity or quality of production.

Car salesman fired over Packers necktie lands on feet

02/25/2011

Before the Chicago Bears played the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game, car salesman John Stone wore a Packers necktie to work at Chicago’s Webb Chevrolet. General Manager Jerry Roberts asked Stone to remove the tie. He refused and was fired. When Roberts learned of Stone’s reason for wearing the tie, he offered him his job back. By then Stone had already packed up to move to rival Chevrolet of Homewood.

When manager recommends firing subordinate, investigate to make sure bias isn’t a factor

02/25/2011

If you don’t have a chance to personally observe an employee’s behavior, don’t rely solely on a supervisor’s termination recommendation. Instead, conduct an independent investigation to verify the supervisor’s claim. Otherwise, any employment decision based on that recommendation can be tainted by the supervisor’s hidden bias.

When employee sues for discrimination, be prepared to show your processes are solid

02/25/2011

Judges don’t want your job. They don’t see courtrooms as publicly funded HR offices, and will often try to defer to employer decisions as much as possible. That’s a huge advantage for employers. Capitalize on that by giving the court something to hang a favorable decision on. That something is often a clear and fair disciplinary process.

This year’s Supreme Court decisions make investigations a must

02/25/2011
In recent rulings, the Supreme Court clearly signaled its unwillingness to tolerate even the appearance of circumventing the nation’s anti-discrimination laws. Employers must have investigative procedures in place to help guide decision-making when an employee could be disciplined or terminated.