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Firing

No longer adrift: State employment laws may apply on water, too

03/01/2008
Employees who work on Indiana waterways are still protected by some Indiana employment laws. That holds true even if those employees work on a river barge otherwise governed by federal admiralty laws …

Prison nurses say race, complaints led to firings

03/01/2008
Six black nurses have sued Nashville-based Corrections Corp. of America, which operates a prison annex for Marion County, alleging they were fired or forced to resign because of their race and because they complained about unsafe practices at the facility …

Late-Night police antics ‘Humiliating’ but not criminal

03/01/2008
The Elkhart Police Department has decided not to pursue criminal charges against employees involved in inappropriate behavior with a detained woman at the station in November …

WellPoint’s Colby a cad, say dozens of women

03/01/2008
David Colby, former chief financial officer of WellPoint Inc., of Indianapolis, has plummeted from top dog to hound dog since being fired last spring for misconduct “of a nonbusiness nature.” …

Effective evaluations are management tools, legal protection

03/01/2008

Ah, the “halo effect”—the practice of inflating an employee’s annual evaluation to increase overall morale and avoid the unpleasantness of telling underperforming workers what their weaknesses are. Too bad using the halo strategy both undermines performance and exposes employers to legal risks …

No need to ‘Totally’ accommodate religious practices

03/01/2008
When it comes to providing employees with the time they need to practice their religion, the key word is “reasonable,” not “total.” An employer doesn’t have to bend over backward to provide all the time off an employee’s religion may demand if doing so creates morale problems among co-workers who have to pick up the slack …

Discrimination claims harder for employees to make if bias is ancient history

03/01/2008
Just because an employee experienced unfair treatment years ago doesn’t mean you have to ignore recent poor performance. You can discipline the employee as long as the charges are fair, accurate and unbiased now …

Raleigh’s Golden Corral faces sexual harassment suit

03/01/2008
Four former employees are suing Raleigh-based Golden Corral Corporation for sexual harassment they say they endured while working in a restaurant in Port Richey, Fla. The plaintiffs, two men and two women, claim they were repeatedly sexually harassed by three male workers, including an associate manager …

Responding to employee rants: 4 do’s and don’ts

03/01/2008
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FMLA compliance doesn’t rule out enforcing attendance policy

03/01/2008
We all know that people do get sick and miss work due to chronic conditions, accidents and serious illnesses. That doesn’t mean you cannot insist on good attendance. As you enforce your attendance policy, however, make sure you don’t count in any negative way absences covered by the FMLA …