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Employee Relations

Progressive discipline can help win bias suits

08/13/2015

Discharged employees often sue, counting on their protected status—based on race, sex, national origin and so on—to create the impression that they were fired for discriminatory reasons. That’s why it’s important to use a progressive discipline system. It lets you counter discrimination allegations with solid, documented performance or behavior problems that warranted discharge.

Suspended ‘pending investigation:’ What information do we owe the employee?

08/11/2015
Q. If an employer suspends an employee “pending investigation,” what information must be provided to the employee?

Manage a suddenly unhappy staffer

08/11/2015
Before an employee’s performance slips or he or she quits altogether, take these steps to correct the situation.

VA offices cited for cutting corners & falsifying records

08/05/2015
The Department of Veterans Affairs Inspector General has issued a blistering report on departmental practices.

Whistle-blower slipping: Punish or let it slide?

08/03/2015
Jack has become a minor celebrity with co-workers ever since he filed an OSHA complaint about a supposedly hazardous condition at the plant. He spends so much time talking about safety that his job performance is declining. Jack needs to be disciplined. What would you do?

How employers respond to the big productivity killers

07/30/2015
Technology keeps finding ways to distract, making employers find ways to get people back on task. Here’s a snapshot of those distractions and the workarounds some are attempting.

‘Kinetic’ furniture: A long walk to nowhere?

07/30/2015
It’s showing up in more workplaces, but are the benefits just an illusion?

7 conversations that keep employees engaged

07/27/2015
According to Dan Prosser, entrepreneur and author of Thirteeners: Why Only 13% of Companies Successfully Execute Their Strategy, here are “connecting conversations” that supervisors should be having regularly with their employees.

Rules aren’t made to be broken! Insubordination is grounds for demotion

07/23/2015
If you have employees like that, carefully document the behavior. Then apply appropriate discipline, especially if the employee is insubordinate. Just make sure that everyone else with a similar work record is also punished the same way.

What we value most when we consider job satisfaction

07/20/2015
When employees think about what makes for satisfying work, respectful treatment of all employees at all levels was rated “very important” by 72% of those polled for a recent Society for Human Resource Management study. But what came after that?