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Employee Relations

Deducting leave for partial-day absences

02/01/2007

Q. Recently, we audited our jobs and determined that some employees were classified as hourly when they should be exempt. We reclassified them. But now, I have a question about handling time off for our newly exempt employees. By law, are we required to NOT charge an exempt person’s time if they’re out of the office for a half day? And if we do start charging an exempt person’s time (vacation or personal) if they miss an hour or two, are we setting ourselves up to be sued?

Traffic tardiness: Be consistent with punishments

02/01/2007

Q. How many times should we allow an employee to be late before giving an oral warning? We have a mandatory 8:30 a.m. production meeting. Everyone knows traffic is out of control, but most employees manage to arrive on time most of the time. Some are consistently late and constantly blame traffic. —J.A., California

To defeat bias lawsuits, track all supervisors’ discipline

02/01/2007

Nothing will sink an employee’s discrimination case faster than evidence that you handed out punishment in the exact same doses to other employees as well …

‘He said, she said’: Train staff in conflict resolution

02/01/2007

What’s a manager to do when faced with conflicting accounts of an argument between employees? An important part of that answer is to resolve it quickly, before the dispute spreads like a cancer through your organization …

Workplace violence: Florida law opens liability beyond workers’ comp

02/01/2007

Twelve percent of all violent crimes committed in the United States occur in the workplace. And Florida employers face unique legal challenges in their response to such violence …

Good news: Liberal definition of retaliation applies only in certain retaliation cases

02/01/2007

In a landmark ruling last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court made it easier for employees to sue their employers for retaliation. But employers in Georgia and others in the 11th Circuit can breathe a sigh of relief when it comes to this ruling …

Savannah police chief sued; ‘paramour favoritism’ at issue

02/01/2007

In a deposition recently released to the public, Savannah Chief of Police Michael Berkow admitted having an affair with a subordinate during his tenure as Deputy Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) …

How to comply with N.J.’s sweeping Whistle-Blower protection law

02/01/2007

The New Jersey Supreme Court has described the state’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) as “the most far reaching ‘whistle-blower statute’ in the nation” …

Reversing disciplinary decisions can spark bias lawsuit

02/01/2007

If you punished two employees for the same misdeed but only one asked you to reverse the decision, consider the legal ramifications first. If you grant “amnesty” to one employee but not the other, you could trigger a discrimination lawsuit …

It’s up to employees to press harassment complaints

02/01/2007

While it’s vital to react promptly when employees formally file sexual harassment complaints, what do you do if they approach you informally and don’t want to make a formal complaint? …