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  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
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Discipline / Investigations

No witness needed for disciplinary meeting

08/01/2007

Q. I run a large restaurant and employ only nonunion workers. Recently, I called one of the waiters into my office to issue him a warning for arriving late for his shifts. He told me he had a right to have one of the cooks there witness our exchange. Is he right? …

Keeping the work environment safe

08/01/2007

Q. What proactive strategies can employers implement to promote a safe workplace? …

Personnel records versus investigation records

07/20/2007

Q One of our employees has just filed a complaint with the company claiming that she has been sexually harassed. We are concerned that if we discipline the alleged harasser based on our findings and note this incident in his personnel file, he may demand to inspect our investigation records. May we avoid this by maintaining a separate investigation file?

Doing nothing after complaint leads to nothing but liability

07/01/2007

The most direct route to a hostile-work-environment lawsuit is to ignore complaints. Do nothing and your liability builds with each new complaint …  

Track discipline companywide to show no double standard

07/01/2007

One of the most common employment law claims is the uneven enforcement of workplace rules. The only foolproof way to counter such lawsuits …

Glowing evaluation doesn’t trump insubordination

07/01/2007

Have you worried about discharging an employee who just got an outstanding evaluation? It’s a legitimate concern, but don’t let it paralyze you …

Think worker is lying about health? Ask before disciplining

07/01/2007

Employees say the darndest things. Take, for example, those who call in sick or are out on disability for conditions you strongly suspect are not quite as serious as they say …

Prior workers’ comp case? Make sure discharge reasons are plausible

07/01/2007

Illinois law protects employees against retaliation for filing workers’ compensation claims. To help your organization avoid needless litigation …

Strange days indeed: Company argues for workers’ comp coverage

07/01/2007

An appeals court ruled that the estate of Miguel Pena, a setting machine operator shot and killed by a fellow employee at Gutmann Leather in Chicago, may proceed with a wrongful death suit …

Uniformity key to investigations that stand up in court

07/01/2007

When it comes to employee complaints and how your organization responds to them, uniformity is the most important factor …