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Employment Law

Insist on HR oversight of disciplinary investigations

02/01/2008

Does your HR office take an active role in workplace investigations? If not, it should. By centralizing the investigative and decision-making functions, you increase the odds that your organization’s disciplinary decisions will be fair and evenhanded …

Employees have to pick: ADA or state disability discrimination law

02/01/2008

Good news for employers: Employees who claim disability discrimination can’t sue under both state and federal laws. They have to choose whether to sue under the ADA or the North Carolina Persons With Disabilities Protection Act …

On references, mum’s usually the word, but sometimes honesty is the best policy

02/01/2008

Conventional wisdom says it’s best to refuse to offer any opinion when a prospective employer asks for a reference on an applicant you know may be a poor choice. But sometimes, you may feel compelled to give your counterpart at the hiring organization an honest “heads up.” Before you do, consider that the applicant may sue you if he doesn’t get the job …

Union setback as court finds Smithfield didn’t abuse workers

02/01/2008

A federal appeals court has overturned a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision and ruled that security personnel at the Tar Heel plant of Smithfield Foods did not mistreat employees who worked for a cleaning contractor during a November 2003 protest …

The risk of references

02/01/2008

Q. May a former employee sue me for giving a bad reference? …

Refusing to return from leave

02/01/2008

Q. A worker who was injured on the job but now is better is refusing to return from leave. What can we do? …

Limits on workers’ comp leave?

02/01/2008

Q. Is there any limitation on how long workers’ compensation leave may go on? …

Managers: Never presume ‘What’s best’ for employees

02/01/2008

Few things spur a discrimination suit as fast as a manager’s misplaced paternalistic comment. Remind supervisors that employees should choose for themselves what promotion or training opportunities they want to pursue. Presumptions about what they might prefer or would be comfortable doing don’t belong in the workplace …

Set crystal-Clear rules governing employee absences

02/01/2008

Employers are free to set reasonable no-call/no-show rules for all absences, including those that qualify for FMLA time off.  On the other hand, if you discharge someone for failing to follow a rule that doesn’t spell out exactly how you expect employees to call in, don’t be surprised if you end up embroiled in a long, time-consuming and expensive legal battle …

Use two-Pronged approach to protect against harassment

02/01/2008

Sexual harassment cases continue to plague employers. Whether the harassment allegations involve a co-worker or a supervisor, the bottom line is simple: You need a two-part defense …