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Q&A

Do we have to tolerate threats from bipolar worker?

10/17/2012

Q. After an employee threatened a co-worker with violence, we gave her a warning. When she did it again, she told her boss she was bipolar and going through a prescription change. She was unaware she made the comments. Do we have to tolerate this behavior now that we know she may be disabled?

How long should an agency investigation take?

10/12/2012

Q. A discrimination charge was filed against my company almost two years ago. We responded to the charge and provided the requested information. We haven’t heard anything for more than 18 months. My boss is worried and wants the process over with. Should I try to find out what’s going on, or just leave it alone?

How should I handle a rude investigator?

10/12/2012

Q. I’m dealing with an enforcement agency investigator who is really rude. She accuses me of hiding information, threatens to subpoena information and says things like, “I know all about your company and how it treats minorities.” She’s been calling my managers at home and demanding that they answer questions. What do I do? Am I going to make things worse if I complain about her behavior?

Should we take up the EEOC on its offer to mediate a complaint?

10/12/2012
Q. The EEOC wants us to participate in mediation. Should we? If we don’t, will it make the investigator think we’re trying to hide something?

What’s going on? It seems like we’re being investigated twice for bias

10/12/2012
Q. We received a charge from the EEOC and we’re dealing with it. Now we’ve received correspondence from the state equal opportunity agency, too. What’s up? Are we going to be investigated twice?

Can we require a diagnosis on a doctor’s note?

10/11/2012

Q. Our policy says that if employees are out due to illness or hospitalization for three days or more, they must provide a doctor’s note that includes a diagnosis. Someone said we can’t demand the diagnosis. Is this true?

Nursing rights law: Can we limit baby distraction?

10/09/2012

Q. I know we have to provide milk-expression breaks for new moms, and we do. But now a new mother is having her mother bring the baby in twice a day to nurse. These breaks go more than 30 minutes as the baby is passed around, etc. Can we just tell her to express and refrigerate the milk?

May we legally restrict when employees can take small amounts of vacation time?

10/05/2012
Q. We have recently needed to cut back on some of our employees’ shifts, meaning that some of our workers are now working fewer than 40 hours per week. In order to bring their hours up to 40, these workers have been filling their time sheets with varying amounts of their earned vacation. Are we permitted to restrict when our employees use their earned vacation?

How should we handle pay while our employee is serving jury duty?

10/05/2012
Q. One of our employees received a jury duty summons. What are our obligations towards the employee in terms of pay and leave?

Can we stop employees from talking politics?

10/01/2012
Q. With the election approaching, it seems like our office is as politically divided as the country. Can we ban all political talk?