• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Discipline / Investigations

Track discipline by offense, worker traits to reduce bias risk

06/09/2008
Employees who believe management has unjustly targeted them for poor treatment often blame it on bias against whatever protected class they may belong to. That’s why it’s so important for employers to proactively ensure that they enforce all rules equitably and fairly—so no employee can claim she was singled out for harsh punishment …

Equal enforcement keeps juries from wondering about bias

06/06/2008
Employees who lose their jobs after committing some infraction often look for reasons to sue. Don’t give them an excuse to drag you into court! The best way to immunize your organization from lawsuits: Equitably and fairly enforce your work rules …

How not to manage a hostile work environment

06/06/2008
When employees complain about being harassed while at work, employers often wonder how to stop the offending behavior. One thing is certain—simply ordering employees to stop doing what they allegedly are doing isn’t enough …

Want to guarantee a lawsuit? Just fail to investigate

06/04/2008
It is pure foolishness to ignore an employee complaint. Employers are almost always better off investigating the claim—even if the matter seems frivolous—than letting the perceived problem fester. Ignoring the request may be all it takes to spur a lawsuit …

Settlement can include clause that bans reapplying

06/03/2008
Not all discrimination claims are crystal clear. Sometimes, employees are treated unfairly, and those situations deserve to be fixed. In such cases, employers may be tempted to settle, offering a small payment along with an agreement that the employee who complained will get additional training or a fair shot at a promotion. But consider the possible aftermath …

Noose incident leads to citation at Frontier Airlines

06/03/2008
Denver-based Frontier Airlines says it disciplined two employees who harassed a black co-worker with a noose at Denver International Airport. Juan Sequeira, with help from a fellow employee, allegedly made the noose and showed it to the co-worker in the break room …

Back up discipline with details from your investigation

05/28/2008
Like any responsible employer, your organization probably has a comprehensive employee handbook that details your internal policies and how you handle disciplinary decisions. But no handbook can cover every possible situation. So it’s not enough for supervisors and managers to simply cite a particular rule violation as the reason for firing or suspending an employee …

New worry serves as reminder to document discipline

05/28/2008
Publicly traded companies have a new worry: Employees can use the whistle-blowing provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) as another way to get back at employers when they are disciplined or fired. SOX makes it illegal to discipline an employee who complains that the company may be violating the Securities Exchange Act.

Investigation of NCHP proves unexpectedly revealing

05/28/2008
After several state troopers were dismissed from the North Carolina Highway Patrol (NCHP), Gov. Mike Easley commissioned a probe by Kroll Associates, a corporate investigative service renowned for its ability to ferret out—and keep—company secrets …

Managers can pay for their bullying behavior—And so can you

05/27/2008
For the first time, the Indiana Supreme Court has endorsed a claim brought by a former employee against a supervisor (rather than the company for whom he worked) on the grounds that the general harassment was so severe as to constitute illegal bullying …