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Employment Law

Make sure employees understand the method you use to calculate FMLA leave

03/05/2012

Employers that don’t take the time and effort to understand the ins and outs of the FMLA do so at their peril. Courts are beginning to lose patience and have started assessing employers double damages for FMLA violations. Something as simple as not making sure employees understand what method you use to calculate FMLA leave entitlements can mean huge liabilities …

More union members in 2011, thanks to private-sector gains

03/05/2012
Changing economic conditions and favorable rule-making in Washington helped U.S. union membership in­­crease to 14.8 million workers last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In Ohio, 13.4% of workers belong to a union.

Seek expert legal help when dealing with NLRB

03/05/2012

Employers that find themselves in the cross hairs of the National Labor Relations Board should get expert legal help, especially if charged with unfair labor practices. That’s because once the NLRB concludes you fired employees for engaging in protected activity, it is very hard to argue against those employees’ eventual reinstatement.

Reorg? Treat staffing decisions like hiring

03/05/2012

After companies merge, there are often too many employees for the remaining available positions. That’s especially true when the new entity also reorganizes operations. Some employees will wind up on the chopping block. Be careful how you choose termination candidates. The best approach is to treat the decision like a hiring or promotion.

Incompetence can’t turn manager into hourly

03/02/2012
Sometimes an employee pro­­moted to management just isn’t ready for new responsibilities. Maybe she’s having a hard time thinking like an exempt employee, longing for the days when she was entitled to breaks and overtime. Fortunately, if you discipline such employees for neglecting their duties, they can’t later claim they actually were hourly employees entitled to overtime.

Boss has ‘history’? Investigate independently

03/01/2012

When you have to investigate allegations that may lead to termination, it’s a good practice to conduct that investigation as independently as possible. That often means you will have to leave out of the picture any supervisors who have a negative history with the employee.

Problem employee both brash and unskilled? Focus on performance issues when disciplining

03/01/2012
Where should you focus if an employee is both difficult to get along with and doesn’t perform as well as she should? It’s actually an easy call. Avoid a potentially successful lawsuit by focusing on poor performance rather than demeanor or other subjective problems.

A 360-degree review can be used to show process was fair

03/01/2012

Some employees can never seem to see that their bad attitudes and behaviors cause workplace problems. Confronted with complaints, they inevitably claim their subordinates or customers are wrong. When they’re finally terminated, they’re quite likely to sue. That’s when it’s handy to have a performance appraisal process that uses 360-degree reviews.

Always assume termination will be challenged

03/01/2012

Here’s a good rule of thumb when disciplining employees: Consider it a given that if discipline leads to termination, the entire disciplinary decision-making process will be challenged in court. That’s why you must carefully document every disciplinary action, starting with warnings.

Know what qualifies as a legitimate reason to take FMLA leave

02/29/2012

Some employees think they’re entitled to FMLA leave for every sickness and family emergency. They’re wrong. You should only grant leave requests based on legitimate reasons and reject clearly frivolous ones.