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Employee Relations

Can employees plead the Fifth Amendment during an investigative interview?

12/18/2008

Q. Our company recently discovered some theft in our operation. We called an employee in for an investigative interview. He claimed to have consulted with an attorney and refused to answer our questions on the grounds that he could not be forced to incriminate himself under the Fifth Amendment. What are our choices?

Tactics for tough times: 5 techniques for managing part-time employees

12/16/2008
As U.S. companies struggle to weather the recession, many are cutting back employee hours. In fact, part-timers now make up 5% of the workforce. Using part-timers may make economic sense, but it can give supervisors fits. Here are five ways to get the most out of part-time workers.

No charges, but woman loses 2 jobs after bridge collapse

12/15/2008

Ramsey County prosecutors declined to file felony theft charges against Sonia Pitt, former director of homeland security and emergency management at the Minnesota Department of Transportation, finding her conduct in the wake of the deadly I-35W bridge collapse objectionable, but not criminal.

Reiterate your drug policies in wake of Prop 1 passage

12/12/2008

How Michigan’s new Medical Marijuana Act will affect employers has been hotly debated. Proposal 1, approved by voters in the November 2008 election, removed state-level penalties for registered patients who use or possess marijuana.

Ferret out bias: Ask supervisor whether he’s reported all similar incidents

12/12/2008

You probably rely on your supervisors and managers to give you all the relevant information before you make a disciplinary decision. But what if they don’t? If you don’t ask the right questions, you may inadvertently approve what ends up being a discriminatory action.

The new metric: performance previews

12/12/2008

Who doesn’t hate performance reviews? They destroy morale and teamwork, says Samuel Culbert, a management professor at UCLA, and they hurt the bottom line. The alternative: Instead of a one-side-accountable, top-down review, consider a both-sides-accountable performance preview.

SSA disability isn’t automatic ADA disability

12/12/2008

For years, employers tried to argue that an employee who received federal Social Security disability payments couldn’t claim she was also covered by the ADA and entitled to reasonable accommodations.

You don’t have to guarantee absolutely cordial treatment

12/11/2008

Although we all might wish for perfect harmony at work, that isn’t realistic. As long as there’s no obvious or thinly veiled race, sex or other underlying discrimination at work, it doesn’t matter if a supervisor isn’t very friendly with some employees.

Cut your risk! Have HR make firing decisions

12/11/2008

Here’s another good reason to insist that HR handle all terminations: It’s much harder for employees to sue the company for its supervisors’ alleged harassment or discrimination if the HR office has primary responsibility for discharge decisions. Here’s why …

Don’t consider FMLA absences when firing

12/11/2008

Employers can’t punish or otherwise hold it against employees for taking FMLA leave—that’s interfering with FMLA rights, and it’s illegal. That’s why it’s important to exclude FMLA leave when making any disciplinary decisions based on employee absences.