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Employment Law

What are the rules on setting a late policy?

10/03/2011
Q, We would like to institute a rule subjecting em­­ployees to discipline for clocking in late. Are we permitted to do this even though we round our employees’ time to the nearest quarter-hour?

Have a progressive discipline system? Beware giving more leeway to younger employees

10/03/2011

It might make sense to give newer employees a bit more leeway when it comes to discipline for poor job performance. After all, sometimes it takes time to learn a job well. But if the newer employees happen to be younger than another, older employee who doesn’t get the same benefit of the doubt, you may spark an age discrimination lawsuit.

Is it a personality conflict or discrimination? Let investigation guide your response

10/03/2011
There are times when a supervisor and a subordinate simply can’t get along. It’s important for HR to distinguish between a personality conflict and discrimination. The former is cause for concern because it is disruptive and counterproductive. But the latter must be dealt with immediately and firmly—because it’s illegal.

Know union rules on probationary employees

10/03/2011
You won’t find many employers extolling the upsides of having a unionized workforce, but there is one advantage. If your union contract provides for a probationary period before an employee becomes a permanent part of your workforce, you may have more discretion in how you discipline the new em­­ployee.

How to avoid the top 5 employment law mistakes employers make

10/03/2011
Failing to effectively communicate with your employees isn’t just bad for business. It also can create legal trouble. Here are five of the most common errors that land employers in court. As you’ll see, communication lies at the heart of all of them.

Employee complaining about bias? Always investigate before imposing any discipline

10/03/2011

Don’t let down your guard just because an employee’s discrimination complaint lacks merit. He could still have a legitimate retaliation claim. Simply put, if a supervisor punishes an employee after he complains about discrimination, you can still be found liable even if there was no discrimination in the first place.

OSHA site helps prevent work-related hearing loss

10/03/2011
OSHA has launched a new Occupational Noise Exposure page on its website that provides tips and tools to prevent noise-related hearing loss.

Which online comments are protected? NLRB helps explain

09/30/2011
Confusion reigns over when employers are legally allowed to discipline employees for bashing the company on Facebook or other social media sites. Now the NLRB has published a report that summarizes the out­­comes and reasoning behind 14 cases it decided in the past year involving employees’ use of social media and the legality of em­­ployers’ social media policies.

Poor performer has complained? Read this before firing!

09/28/2011

Employers usually don’t have a problem terminating an em­­ployee for poor performance if the employee has never raised any kind of discrimination claim. But somehow, as soon as an employee goes to the EEOC (or even just HR) with a complaint, the same employer doesn’t know what to do. Should you terminate the em­­ployee and face a potential retaliation suit?

What should we do? It looks like employee used FMLA leave for elective surgery

09/28/2011
Q. An employee told her supervisor that she needed surgery. We approved time off under the FMLA with the understanding that she would provide certification after the leave began. We later discovered that this “necessary” procedure was liposuction. Can we revoke approval of medical leave under the FMLA and convert sick hours she used to vacation hours instead? Can we fire her based on inappropriate use of the FMLA?