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Employment Law

If employee gives late FMLA notice, when must you cut slack?

01/04/2011
The latest FMLA regulations give employers new powers to demand notification from employees. But while you can now hold employees to your “usual and customary” notice procedures when they’re notifying you of unexpected FMLA leave, you must allow some flexibility for emergency circumstances. The question is, how much?

How to Respond to an EEOC Complaint: 10 Steps to Success

01/04/2011
The EEOC and state and local agencies have been filing more administrative charges in recent years and that trend is likely to continue. Because administrative charges can be precursors to discrimination lawsuits, it’s critical for you to handle them properly. These 10 tips will help you prepare to respond: 1. Tell the whole story Often, […]

EEOC issues new mandatory poster highlighting GINA

01/04/2011
It’s time to update your break-room bulletin board. The EEOC has issued a new “EEO is the Law” poster that most employers must display, now including information on employee rights under the recently enacted Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. Download it here.

Investigation must be reasonable–not perfect

01/03/2011

Have you worried that your investigations into employee wrongdoing aren’t good enough? Stop fretting. As long as your investigations are fair and reasonable, they don’t have to be perfect. The workplace isn’t a court of law, and employers don’t have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an employee broke a rule.

Understanding Minnesota’s personnel record requirements gives you a leg up during litigation

01/03/2011
Minnesota’s personnel record rules can cause problems for employers that don’t operate primarily in the state. For example, employers that aren’t used to the rules may not realize that employees can challenge the truthfulness of information in personnel records and then sue for defamation.

Document all discipline, every complaint

01/03/2011

Some employees may manufacture complaints when they think they’re in trouble at work. That’s why it’s so important to maintain good records of all work problems, discipline and complaints. Employers that can prove they were raising concerns about performance before the employee complained about discrimination or harassment effectively cut the causal link between the complaint and the alleged retaliation.

Update job descriptions to include new duties

01/03/2011

If you don’t have accurate and up-to-date job descriptions, you’re probably courting trouble—especially if an employee develops a disability and wants a reasonable accommodation. That’s because what an employee considers a job’s essential functions may not jibe with your assessment.

Credibility plays part in handling harassment

01/03/2011

When you have to fire a protected-class employee for sexual harassment, there’s always the fear that he will turn around and sue for discrimination. But remember: Credibility plays a part in deciding what happened in cases of alleged harassment. If a respected and trusted employee made the harassment accusation, the fired worker will have a hard time winning a lawsuit.

Twittering away the day on FMLA

01/03/2011
Have you ever searched Twitter for the term “FMLA”? You’ll find some interesting interpretations on how people use their “family” or “medical” time off. Chicago law firm Franczek Radelet PC collected these recent tweets:

When conducting bias investigations, you don’t need to be perfect–just reasonable

12/31/2010
Here’s a bit of good news for HR professionals who worry that they aren’t conducting perfect investigations. Courts just want to see employers act reasonably. That doesn’t mean investigations must prove employee misconduct beyond a reasonable doubt.