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Employee Relations

Investigation must be reasonable–not perfect

01/03/2011

Have you worried that your investigations into employee wrongdoing aren’t good enough? Stop fretting. As long as your investigations are fair and reasonable, they don’t have to be perfect. The workplace isn’t a court of law, and employers don’t have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an employee broke a rule.

Are we legally required to offer performance improvement plans and last-chance warnings?

01/03/2011
Q. I attended a seminar for HR professionals last month where the instructor discussed the value of offering performance improvement plans and last-chance warnings to employees before they are terminated. Is my company obligated to offer these plans or warnings?

It’s safe to tell the truth about former employees

01/03/2011
Let’s say you have fired someone for breaking company rules, conduct so severe that the police get involved. What should you tell people who call later, looking for references on the former employee? The truth!

Understanding Minnesota’s personnel record requirements gives you a leg up during litigation

01/03/2011
Minnesota’s personnel record rules can cause problems for employers that don’t operate primarily in the state. For example, employers that aren’t used to the rules may not realize that employees can challenge the truthfulness of information in personnel records and then sue for defamation.

Document all discipline, every complaint

01/03/2011

Some employees may manufacture complaints when they think they’re in trouble at work. That’s why it’s so important to maintain good records of all work problems, discipline and complaints. Employers that can prove they were raising concerns about performance before the employee complained about discrimination or harassment effectively cut the causal link between the complaint and the alleged retaliation.

Update job descriptions to include new duties

01/03/2011

If you don’t have accurate and up-to-date job descriptions, you’re probably courting trouble—especially if an employee develops a disability and wants a reasonable accommodation. That’s because what an employee considers a job’s essential functions may not jibe with your assessment.

Credibility plays part in handling harassment

01/03/2011

When you have to fire a protected-class employee for sexual harassment, there’s always the fear that he will turn around and sue for discrimination. But remember: Credibility plays a part in deciding what happened in cases of alleged harassment. If a respected and trusted employee made the harassment accusation, the fired worker will have a hard time winning a lawsuit.

When employee disobeys, document insubordination

01/02/2011
You can and should discipline employees who refuse to follow directions. Just make sure you document the insubordination.

When conducting bias investigations, you don’t need to be perfect–just reasonable

12/31/2010
Here’s a bit of good news for HR professionals who worry that they aren’t conducting perfect investigations. Courts just want to see employers act reasonably. That doesn’t mean investigations must prove employee misconduct beyond a reasonable doubt.

Restaurant employee will serve time for wire fraud

12/30/2010
Jeremy David Schweickert will serve a 27-month sentence in federal prison for his part in a scheme to defraud his former employer, Tampa-based OSI Restaurant Partners.