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North Dakota

Protected speech can be used to prove retaliation

02/12/2009

Government employees who speak out on matters of public importance and are punished for doing so may be able to sue for unlawful retaliation. They may even be able to make those claims years later—if they can show a connection between speaking out and an adverse employment action.

Double-check for signs of retaliation whenever workers complain of discrimination

02/12/2009

Here’s how routine discrimination claims turn ugly fast: A supervisor or manager gets it in her head that she’s going to punish an employee for complaining. While it’s hard for employees to win most discrimination cases, it’s relatively easy for them to win retaliation claims.

Made a mistake? Fix it fast to avoid liability

01/13/2009

It can happen to the best manager or HR professional. You discipline or demote an employee, and then, when she files an internal grievance or asks the company to reconsider, you conclude she shouldn’t have been disciplined or demoted in the first place. What should you do?

Several locations? Beware accidental OT trap

01/13/2009

Here’s a trap you may fall into accidentally: If you have multiple locations, each operating independently, watch out for wage-and-hour violations involving employees who work at more than one location. Here’s why.

Require those on FMLA leave to call in sick, just like any other employee

01/13/2009

Good news from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals: If you have a system for employees to call in sick, you can require everyone to use it—even employees on approved intermittent FMLA leave. The trick is to make sure that the employee taking FMLA leave understands she still must call in.

Log all discipline, track it by type & offense

12/09/2008

It goes without saying that you should enforce your rules fairly. That’s why you must track every disciplinary action and make a clear record of why each employee earned his discipline. Later, when one of those employees claims the real reason he was fired was due to age, sex or some other protected classification, you can show that wasn’t the case.

Be prepared to grant FMLA leave for diagnosis of serious health condition

12/09/2008

Routine doctors’ appointments such as checkups or annual physicals aren’t considered eligible for FMLA leave, but appointments aimed at diagnosing a condition may be. Employers that know the employee is seeing a specialist as part of the followup to an auto accident, for example, are on notice that the employee may need to take FMLA leave …

It’s OK to ban prescription drugs if you have genuine safety concerns

12/09/2008

Employees who take certain prescription drugs for legitimate medical conditions may be unable to work safely if their jobs involve heavy machinery, split-second judgment or the ability to remain alert. If that’s the case, it’s not disability discrimination to ban employees from working while on those medications.

Firing OK if employee falsely claims harassment

10/14/2008

Not every sexual harassment complaint is legitimate. A thorough investigation may wind up showing that one of the parties is lying. Can you fire the presumed liar if he or she brought the complaint in the first place? The answer is a qualified “yes” …

Civility is great—But you don’t have to guarantee it

08/12/2008
It’s a fact of life—not every employee is going to get along with everyone else in your shop. Some managers and supervisors will have more trouble managing a particular employee than others. However, unless the reason for a supervisor’s criticism is the employee’s protected status (e.g., race or age), the employee won’t win a hostile-environment lawsuit if the “hostility” isn’t extremely severe …