Employee Relations

Documentation key if you must discipline employee who took protected leave

12/13/2016

Document it carefully if, while an employee is out on protected leave, you discover that she has broken a workplace rule that warrants discipline.

Consistently apply progressive discipline

12/08/2016

Progressive discipline may end up becoming a trap for employers that don’t scrupulously honor the underlying purpose of the rule being implemented.

OK to discipline for bullying online posts

12/01/2016

If you have solid policy guidance on proper workplace behavior, you shouldn’t worry too much about punishing abusive or offensive online behavior that crosses the line into bullying or worse.

Absolute proof not required, just good faith

12/01/2016

As long as you conduct a fair and impartial investigation aimed at getting to the truth, courts don’t demand that you get every fact right.

N.Y. labor law updates: State salary threshold, fantasy sports

11/29/2016

New York employers could be facing higher salary thresholds for exempt workers. They are also confronting a new workplace challenge: the distraction of legal fantasy sports betting.

Treat cases independently when employee being disciplined files complaint of her own

11/29/2016

Sometimes, an employee facing discipline will fight back with allegations of her own. Handle those allegations separately from any pending disciplinary action, and be sure to carefully document each step of both processes.

Take steps to ease conflict over election results

11/18/2016

If pro-Trump/anti-Trump debates are simmering among your employees, don’t ignore them.

Every time, be ready to justify why you disciplined

11/17/2016

Generally, you should enforce workplace rules as equally as possible.

Beware hasty decisions, investigate all the angles

11/10/2016

After investigating a workplace incident but before making a final decision, consider hiring a neutral investigator to assess what really happened.

Managing is a matter of trust

11/06/2016

How to get your employees to believe in you, the organization and its mission.