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Employee Relations

Tell supervisors: No stereotyping based on national origin

06/03/2008
It’s important to remind all supervisors to judge employees on their individual merits—and not to indulge stereotypes. As the following case shows, using stereotypes in any critique of job performance may be enough evidence of national origin discrimination to merit a possible jury trial …

Fire away … but be prepared to defend terminations

06/03/2008
Employment terminations fall into several categories. Whether the situation involves new hires who didn’t work out, firings for cause or performance issues, or voluntary resignations, terminations often lead to litigation. For each type of termination, there are some common ways employers can make sure they can defend themselves if challenged …

Keep employees by defanging a bully

06/01/2008

The turnover rate is high at your company. You’re even conducting exit interviews with every departing employee to find out what’s going on, but nobody talks. Chances are you’ve got some bad bosses. Maybe even some bullies. Only recently have scientists started looking at why cruel bosses thrive.

Do Men and Women Speak Different Languages at Work?

05/28/2008
Women have 11% more neurons in their brains for emotion, feelings and communication. So when it comes to communicating at work, women prefer to build rapport and tell a story. Men prefer the headline and to report. How to bridge the gap?

Back up discipline with details from your investigation

05/28/2008
Like any responsible employer, your organization probably has a comprehensive employee handbook that details your internal policies and how you handle disciplinary decisions. But no handbook can cover every possible situation. So it’s not enough for supervisors and managers to simply cite a particular rule violation as the reason for firing or suspending an employee …

New worry serves as reminder to document discipline

05/28/2008
Publicly traded companies have a new worry: Employees can use the whistle-blowing provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) as another way to get back at employers when they are disciplined or fired. SOX makes it illegal to discipline an employee who complains that the company may be violating the Securities Exchange Act.

Investigation of NCHP proves unexpectedly revealing

05/28/2008
After several state troopers were dismissed from the North Carolina Highway Patrol (NCHP), Gov. Mike Easley commissioned a probe by Kroll Associates, a corporate investigative service renowned for its ability to ferret out—and keep—company secrets …

Managers can pay for their bullying behavior—And so can you

05/27/2008
For the first time, the Indiana Supreme Court has endorsed a claim brought by a former employee against a supervisor (rather than the company for whom he worked) on the grounds that the general harassment was so severe as to constitute illegal bullying …

Can we discipline an employee for secretly recording workplace conversations?

05/27/2008
Q. Some employees discovered that a co-worker has been secretly recording conversations with them and some supervisors. One of them brought it to our attention after he grew suspicious that the employee was digging for information about some employment decisions we had made. Several employees have complained about the invasion of their privacy. The company president’s first reaction was to have the employee arrested, but I’m not sure he broke any laws. Our policies prohibit general harassment, but do not specifically address clandestine recordings. Can we discipline this employee? Should we contact police? …

Objective evaluations get lawsuits dismissed

05/27/2008
The quality of your performance evaluation process—whether it is objective or subjective—can determine how a discrimination lawsuit turns out. Handle evaluations improperly, and a case can linger for months. Do it the right way, and the case may be dismissed immediately …