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Discipline / Investigations

Calling supervisor to complain about alleged racial slur is protected activity

09/09/2013
Employees are protected from retaliation for complaining about alleged discrimination. The complaint is considered protected activity. Something as simple as calling a supervisor to complain about a co-worker’s racial slur is protected.

There’s no excuse for workplace abuse! Even disabled employees can be disciplined

09/01/2013
Employers don’t have to put up with angry and abusive em­­ployees who try to make life miserable for others. That’s true even if the employee is disabled and has taken FMLA and other leave to deal with mental problems or medical conditions that may be contributing to poor behavior.

NLRB, EEOC confidentiality stance muddles investigations

08/26/2013

The NLRB and EEOC are actively enforcing the position that a blanket policy requiring confidentiality during investigations violates federal labor and employment law. That means employers must proceed carefully and thoughtfully when making confidentiality requests during investigations.

Don’t overlook oral warnings in progressive discipline process

08/19/2013
Progressive discipline often focuses on the end of the process—the written warnings that, if unheeded, can lead to firing. But the oral warnings that come at the beginning are just as important.

There’s a reason for all those disciplinary rules!

07/31/2013
You should be able to easily pull up every employee’s disciplinary history and show that the employee received a copy, acknowledged an oral warning or was counseled. Consider what happened in the following case when recordkeeping lapsed.

Discuss firing only with those who need to know

07/30/2013
As a general rule, you should only discuss a worker’s termination with those who really need to know about it. That’s especially true in sensitive cases involving alleged fraud, theft or falsifications. You don’t want to lose a defamation case because a manager decided to make an example of a fired employee.

When it comes to discipline, details matter

07/30/2013
Here’s an important reminder for HR professionals and managers who must investigate employee misconduct and decide on appropriate discipline. Don’t forget to provide a detailed account of what happened, whom you interviewed and how you arrived at an appropriate punishment. Make sure similar misconduct results in similar consequences.

Court points way toward tracking employees with GPS

07/24/2013
A recent New York Court of Appeals case offers guidance to employers that want to slap GPS devices on employees’ cars to monitor their activities.

Law firm employee convicted of true copycat crime

07/23/2013
A New York City man is headed to prison after being convicted of selling his employer’s copier toner on the black market.

Employee won’t cooperate with investigation? That’s legitimate grounds for discharge

07/17/2013
You can reasonably expect em­­ployees to cooperate with internal investigations so you can get all the facts and make well-informed decisions. You can and should discipline workers who won’t assist.