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Louisiana

Remind supervisors: You have duty to prevent customer harm

07/07/2008
Employers aren’t just liable for harm that comes to employees while they work. Employers also have to keep customers safe. That duty even includes making sure off-duty employees don’t harm customers if that harm is foreseeable …

Legal clock starts when you tell worker she’s losing job

07/07/2008
If you plan to terminate employees who work for you under contract, plan to document exactly when you tell them their contracts won’t be renewed. Here’s why: Employees have only a short time to file discrimination claims. If they miss the deadline, they lose the right to sue …

Training tests may provide important screening opportunities

05/30/2008
Do your new hires have to complete a comprehensive training and testing program before they’re allowed to start work? If you can show your tests are valid and necessary (and they don’t disproportionately screen out any particular protected class), chances are a new employee who alleges discrimination because you didn’t keep him won’t get far with a lawsuit …

‘Just the facts’ answer is key to avoiding reference trouble

05/30/2008
One of the quickest ways to get into reference trouble is to agree to provide information on a former employee and then offer up incorrect or misleading statements. Giving a favorable reference on a former employee who performed (or behaved) poorly can be extremely risky …

Any deviation from company rules may arouse suspicion

05/30/2008
When it comes to discrimination lawsuits, the earlier they are dismissed, the better. That’s one reason you don’t want to give a judge any incentive to send a case to a jury. Of course, deviating from your own company rules is one of those things that often leads judges to order a jury trial …

Public employers, take note: Some employee speech may be protected

05/30/2008
Public employees have some rights that other employees may not. One of those is the right to speak out on matters of public importance without being punished. But that right isn’t available to employees performing their official duties …

Don’t think federal laws always trump state claims

05/30/2008
A recent 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision makes one thing clear: Employees and their lawyers are always looking for novel ways to sue employers—and sometimes state law gives them additional ways to do just that …

Make sure investigation process doesn’t defame employee

05/05/2008
As an employer, you are obligated to investigate employee harassment and discrimination claims. How you handle those investigations can determine whether you’ll have to prepare for later lawsuits. The problem: allegations that you defamed someone while conducting the investigation …

Track discipline to show equal treatment for all workers

05/05/2008
Insist that managers tell HR when they issue any form of discipline, even an oral warning. That way, there’s a record that you can later use to explain why it only looks like a discharged employee was punished more harshly than others who committed the same offense …

Minor workplace changes won’t lose discrimination case

05/05/2008
Supervisors often treat employees who have been known to complain about discrimination with kid gloves. But you should explain to managers and supervisors that only adverse employment actions can lead to lawsuits. Minor workplace changes probably won’t provide ammunition for yet another discrimination complaint …