Employee Relations

Are we allowed to discipline an employee for spouting off about political topics?

02/08/2016

Q. With the upcoming presidential elections, political conversation among employees has become more frequent and intense. One employee in particular, whose political views are the opposite of most of the others in the office, has taken to vehemently promoting his favored candidate and that candidate’s views. Several employees have complained that this has made them uncomfortable. Can we take disciplinary action against the employee for promoting his political views? We are a private employer.

10 steps: Conducting an internal investigation

02/08/2016

Follow these procedures when conducting internal investigations of alleged employee misconduct.

Supervisors’ guide to progressive discipline

02/04/2016

No state or federal law requires you to establish a progressive discipline policy. If your organization has one, however, make sure all your supervisors understand and follow it.

Warn bosses: Dodge these 7 common evaluation traps

01/27/2016

When training supervisors how to conduct performance appraisals, warn them to avoid these seven mistakes that can taint the evaluation process.

What to ask before punishing insubordination

01/20/2016

An employee who doesn’t do what is asked of him or her is not necessarily insubordinate. Before disciplining for insubordination, delve a little deeper into the employee’s resistance.

Who’s winning the workplace Cold War?

01/11/2016

The weather outside may be frightfully bizarre this winter, but the temperatures inside can be just as difficult for many to adjust to. According to a new Harris poll, 23% of employees say their office is too cold, while 25% are too hot.

Have you nailed down the rules of telecommuting?

12/31/2015

Speaker and author Jay Forte is a results-oriented kind of guy, so he doesn’t think you have reason to worry that remote workers might become underperformers—as long as everyone knows what’s expected from day one.

Tips to speed up slower workers

12/31/2015

There is sometimes only a thin line between diligence and delay—but you can always tell when employees have crossed it.

4 ways to get busy people to read your emails

12/30/2015

There are several things you can do when writing emails to get your readers’ attention and urge them to continue reading, according to the email marketing experts at the Specialized Information Publishers Association.

Counter years of good reviews by documenting legit reasons for discipline

12/22/2015

Generally, if an employer gives an employee consistently good reviews, courts will view that as evidence that the employer was satisfied with the worker’s job performance. An employee who alleges discrimination or retaliation can then use those good reviews to show that something else must have been the reason for a sudden discharge.