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Employee Relations

Following harassment complaint, changing supervisors can cut liability

01/01/2008

While no employer should condone any form of workplace harassment, it isn’t always necessary to terminate the alleged harasser. After all, sometimes it may be a matter of “he said/she said,” making it tough to sort out what really happened. That’s likely if there are no witnesses. In those cases, the best move may be to separate the parties …

FBI says Atlanta police failed to pursue child pornographer

01/01/2008

The FBI has charged Terrill Crane, the husband of Atlanta police sergeant Tanya Crane, with paying more than a dozen underage girls to have sex with him. Worse, the FBI says it has evidence that the Atlanta Police Department first learned about the alleged crimes seven years ago …

Internal thefts and background checks: What if employees withhold consent?

01/01/2008

Q. We are getting ready to conduct an internal investigation into a series of thefts that have occurred within one of our offices. We would like to obtain background checks from some of the suspected employees, but are concerned that they may refuse to execute the necessary consent forms. Can we require them to do so? — A.K. …

End of harassment investigation triggers filing period

01/01/2008

When it comes to filing a sexual harassment claim under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, employees have just one year from the date of the alleged sexual harassment to file a complaint. Missing that deadline bars the employee from suing. But sexual harassment rarely occurs in a vacuum, and there’s rarely just one incident …

Caught on camera! Public employers can snoop on employees during fraud probes

01/01/2008

California has a tough statute that protects celebrities against the paparazzi. But California law doesn’t necessarily shield the privacy of public employees. Government agencies can order and conduct intrusive investigations if they suspect public employees are committing workers’ comp and benefits fraud …

Independent investigation doesn’t have to be perfect

01/01/2008

If you receive a discrimination complaint, conduct a prompt and thorough investigation. Then have an independent party decide on any discipline. If the investigation was independent and the decision-maker was not the same person who allegedly discriminated against the employee, it won’t matter if the decision-maker was wrong—just that he or she believed the reason was genuine …

Check yourself: Can you show equal treatment at discipline time?

01/01/2008

There’s an easy way to avoid losing a discrimination lawsuit stemming from disciplining an employee who breaks company rules: Make absolutely certain you discipline fairly and evenhandedly, meting out punishment regardless of race, sex, nationality or other protected characteristics. Conduct regular audits of all disciplinary actions to make certain no one gets a free pass …

Justified firing doesn’t mean employee can’t show harassment

01/01/2008

Sometimes, a problem employee claims harassment as a way to protect herself from legitimate discipline. When that happens, it may be tempting to ignore such claims on the presumption they are bogus. It may be tempting to dismiss her complaints as much ado about nothing. But you’ll ignore her at your own peril …

Second chance for problem employee? Monitor closely

01/01/2008

Sometimes, workplace rules conspire to give a second chance to a problem employee with a history of harassment or intimidation. If you don’t carefully monitor the second-chance worker’s behavior, chances are the inappropriate conduct will rear its ugly head again. Then, in addition to harassment and discrimination liabilities, you may be on the hook for negligent supervision, too …

Whistle-Blowers protected if they reasonably believe violation occurred

01/01/2008

New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) is widely regarded as one of the most far-reaching whistle-blower laws in the country. It protects employees against retaliation if they bring attention to possible illegal activities. If an employee comes forward with a report of suspected wrongdoing, even if you believe he is incorrect, be very cautious about disciplining the employee …