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Terminations

Apply good judgment to legal considerations

06/01/2006

Q. An employee left work on a Monday due to an illness. She called in sick Tuesday and Wednesday, but we heard nothing on Thursday or Friday. Our policy calls for termination if the employee doesn’t contact us within three days. We posted her job on Friday and decided to terminate her. On Monday, her fiancé called to tell us she was pregnant and had complications that led to a hospital visit. We got a note from her OB-GYN saying she’d been seen, but not indicating when she could return. What should we do to avoid any legal fall out? —K.A., New York

Interview notes can be a binding contract

05/01/2006
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Explicit Sex Talk by the ‘Victim’ Can Be Used as Harassment Defense

05/01/2006

If an employee claims she was sexually harassed but the evidence shows that she gave as good as she got, you have a good defense in hand. As a new ruling shows, employees’ sexual statements can be used against them when they sue for sexual harassment …

Harassment Investigations Must Be ‘Fundamentally Fair’ to the Accused

05/01/2006

When a sexual harassment accusation arises, employers often move into crisis mode. But don’t try to push the problem off your plate by quickly jettisoning the employee via a kangaroo court …

Heed the legal limits of video monitoring in the workplace

05/01/2006
Monitoring employees with video cameras probably doesn’t violate employee privacy rights, but employers should make sure they don’t step over the line of reasonable privacy concerns, such as monitoring dressing rooms …

Be wary of disciplining employees soon after union activities

05/01/2006

Courts, the NLRB and state labor relations boards are becoming more open to employee’s claims that they were disciplined in response to their union activities, even when no connection exists. For that reason, it’s important to be cognizant of your timing when taking action against a union worker …

COBRA notices: Lessons from 3 recent court rulings

04/01/2006

Court rulings periodically alter your responsibilities in offering COBRA continuing health coverage. Keeping abreast of those changes helps you stay in compliance and out of court …

Design smoker surcharges to cut costs, preserve morale

04/01/2006

More employers are increasing health premiums for smokers as a way to cut health costs. Such surcharges can trim costs, but implementation mistakes can alienate employees and hurt morale. Use the following tips to design smoker surcharges that reduce the most costs with the least employee backlash …

No need to announce reasons for firing

04/01/2006

Q. We fired a part-time employee for stealing a gift card out of the trash. We have a policy against taking anything of value out of the garbage. The next day, his supervisor announced to everyone that the employee had been fired for theft. I don’t think it was appropriate to tell others the reason. Was it? And what should we say if someone calls for a reference? —A.L., Arkansas

Prevent employee anger before it starts: 5 tips

04/01/2006

One wrong move (especially during the firing process) can send employees running for courthouse. Teach supervisors to avoid unnecessarily angering employees by pointing out the following common mistakes …