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Employee Relations

Play it safe: Craft policy banning supervisor/subordinate relationships

11/01/2003
Issue: Personal relationships between employees and their bosses are ripe conditions for legal trouble.
Risk: Any form of quid pro quo (“this for that”) exchange of sexual favors for job …

Consider paying staff if computer error halts work

10/01/2003

Q. Is it OK not to pay hourly employees if we have to send them home because our computer system went down for the day? —J.B., Massachusetts

Show managers why discipline must remain confidential

10/01/2003
Issue: If managers “go public” about employee discipline, it could spark an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit.
Risk: Jury awards and damaged employee morale, leading to turnover …

Flex your strategic muscle to avoid being ‘outsourced’

10/01/2003
Issue: As outsourcing grows and gains popularity, you need to prove your value to the organization.
Benefit: Protect your job and build a reputation as a “big-picture” …

COBRA: Explain ‘qualifying events’ in notice

10/01/2003
When sending notice to a former employee about COBRA health insurance rights, define the type of “qualifying events” that cause COBRA to kick in. People have 60 days after a qualifying …

Don’t ‘call out’ staff slackers in public

10/01/2003
Reprimands and demotions are a normal part of managing people. But don’t let supervisors take it a step further by broadcasting a reprimand to those with no reason to know.
…

Mind your P’s and P’s: Patience and proof are best defense against lawsuits

10/01/2003
Some managers are reluctant to discipline minority employees or others in “protected” classes. That’s not smart, and it can come back to haunt you if you don’t discipline all employees evenly. …

Prevent managers from interfering with employees’ ADA rights

10/01/2003
You know that you can’t retaliate against employees who request accommodation under the Americans with Disabil-ities Act (ADA). But in addition to this anti-retaliation rule, the law includes a little-known “interference” …

Don’t Treat Disciplinary Suspensions as ‘Admin Leave’

10/01/2003

Q. We recently sent an employee home for not following his supervisor’s instructions. Do we have an obligation to pay him for the full day regardless? How should we handle this situation in the future? Is this considered administrative leave? —D.M., California

Ask these questions before you ‘Write up’ an employee

10/01/2003

Most employee lawsuits stem from employees’ perceptions that they got a raw deal. So before you discipline an employee in writing, ask yourself these questions …