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Productivity / Performance

So you need to trim your training budget … but where?

06/01/2009

Training programs are among the first areas to take a hit when the economy falters. If you haven’t scaled back training expenses yet, your boss may soon ask. To examine training programs and avoid eliminating those that do work, ask the following questions:

Firing after FMLA leave: How soon is ‘too soon’?

05/27/2009

An employer fired a worker just six weeks after she returned from FMLA leave. Six weeks is like a nanosecond on the retaliation stopwatch. But the court still dismissed the case. Why?

So an employee tells you she’s seriously ill … now what?

05/27/2009

It’s sad enough when an employee becomes seriously ill. What makes it tougher is that work doesn’t stop. Deadlines remain, customers need service and paperwork piles up. Mistakes can mean not only hurt feelings but also potential legal liability problems. Here are four ways supervisors and HR can handle such situations with tact and legal skill.

Can a lazy worker collect unemployment?

05/27/2009

Q. We have an employee who does not work very hard and her production is marginal. If we terminate the employee, will she be able to collect unemployment compensation?

How can we terminate a morale buster who is in ill health?

05/27/2009

Q. We have an employee who was out six months with a heart condition. He has had performance problems on and off since then. Now we face a morale issue because he constantly talks about his illness, and his co-workers feel he isn’t performing. If we terminate him, what is the best approach?

What should we do? We’re afraid our diabetic employee is a danger to herself and others

05/27/2009

Q. One of our employees, who has diabetes, is on the road a lot tending to patients in their homes. We’ve heard that she is having trouble seeing patient charts and difficulty pricking patients’ fingers for tests. What should we do?

Performance Reviews: Employee Self Evaluation Form

05/19/2009
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Dump the slump: 14 ways to energize staff

05/19/2009

The recession has plenty of employees distracted and anxious—about their jobs, their 401(k)s and their monthly bills. That’s not good news at a time when you need to squeeze every ounce of productivity from your employees. These 14 tips can motivate shell-shocked employees.

It’s your right to demand good performance—even from employees who take FMLA leave

05/11/2009

Employees who take FMLA leave or engage in other protected activities sometimes look for signs their employer is illegally punishing them. They interpret every legitimate request for improvement as retaliation. Fortunately, courts are beginning to reject those frivolous claims.

Got a good reason to fire worker who has requested FMLA leave? Document and do it!

05/11/2009

Some employees are under the mistaken impression that merely asking for FMLA leave means they cannot be fired. That’s simply not true. Employees who take FMLA leave don’t have greater rights than other employees.