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Employee Relations

Flex your strategic muscle to avoid being ‘outsourced’

10/01/2003
Issue: As outsourcing grows and gains popularity, you need to prove your value to the organization.
Benefit: Protect your job and build a reputation as a “big-picture” …

COBRA: Explain ‘qualifying events’ in notice

10/01/2003
When sending notice to a former employee about COBRA health insurance rights, define the type of “qualifying events” that cause COBRA to kick in. People have 60 days after a qualifying …

Don’t ‘call out’ staff slackers in public

10/01/2003
Reprimands and demotions are a normal part of managing people. But don’t let supervisors take it a step further by broadcasting a reprimand to those with no reason to know.
…

Mind your P’s and P’s: Patience and proof are best defense against lawsuits

10/01/2003
Some managers are reluctant to discipline minority employees or others in “protected” classes. That’s not smart, and it can come back to haunt you if you don’t discipline all employees evenly. …

Prevent managers from interfering with employees’ ADA rights

10/01/2003
You know that you can’t retaliate against employees who request accommodation under the Americans with Disabil-ities Act (ADA). But in addition to this anti-retaliation rule, the law includes a little-known “interference” …

Don’t Treat Disciplinary Suspensions as ‘Admin Leave’

10/01/2003

Q. We recently sent an employee home for not following his supervisor’s instructions. Do we have an obligation to pay him for the full day regardless? How should we handle this situation in the future? Is this considered administrative leave? —D.M., California

Ask these questions before you ‘Write up’ an employee

10/01/2003

Most employee lawsuits stem from employees’ perceptions that they got a raw deal. So before you discipline an employee in writing, ask yourself these questions …

You Shouldn’t Tie FMLA Leave to Workers’ Evaluation Date

10/01/2003

Q. Our FMLA policy says that if employees take leaves of absence under FMLA for more than seven days, their annual review date is moved back for the amount of time they were out. Is this policy lawful? —S.H., Maryland

Focus on employee retention now; don’t wait for economic rebirth

10/01/2003
HR professionals are gearing up for an expected wave of turnover as the job market recovers and workers split for better opportunities.
Fifty-six percent of HR pros say it’s extremely …

To claim religious bias, worker must first voice need for accommodation

09/01/2003
A person’s religion is not like his sex or race, something obvious from a glance. That’s why Title VII imposes a duty on workers to provide fair warning of any employment …