Discipline / Investigations

How can we recover funds accidentally overpaid to an employee?

04/25/2008

Q. We recently overpaid an employee by $3,000, but we did not discover the discrepancy for six months. Can we automatically and legitimately withhold those wages from the employee’s paycheck? Also, would it be inappropriate to dock additional wages because the employee did not make us aware of the mistake? …

Handling a worker who clocks in early

04/25/2008

Q. We’ve repeatedly warned a part-time employee about clocking in earlier than he’s supposed to—sometimes more than an hour early. We know that we have to pay him for any hours worked, but what can we legally do to get him to work only the hours set for his position? Also, can we reprimand a co-worker who has been clocking in for him? …

Treat all harassers equally, regardless of their sex

04/23/2008

In what may be a sign of growing equality, more men are complaining about sexual harassment by their female co-workers and supervisors. Although female harassers may still be in the minority, that’s no reason to dismiss claims that men make …

Pressure to ‘Balance’ staff may show reverse discrimination

04/14/2008

Are you under pressure to make your work force better reflect the racial or ethnic composition of the surrounding community? If so, be aware that manipulating hiring or promotions to achieve that goal at the expense of any particular race may mean a reverse discrimination lawsuit …

Punish offenders to set example that prevents harassment

04/14/2008

When you learn that a supervisor has sexually harassed and punished—or threatened to punish—a subordinate to gain cooperation or for rejecting an advance, send a strong message to all managers and supervisors. Promptly fire the harasser or demote him—or her—out of a supervisory position. Then reinstate the harassed employee …

Don’t hesitate to discipline a rude and insubordinate employee

04/09/2008

Nothing disrupts the workplace like a rude and nasty employee—especially one who thinks she’s smarter than everybody else and constantly tries to show it by criticizing co-workers and others. To stop the damage, you may have to act firmly, even if that means the employee may sue. If you back your actions with solid evidence, chances are a judge will throw out the case …

State’s lawyer says she was punished for union organizing

04/08/2008

Assistant Attorney General Amy Lawler says she was suspended for speaking out in favor of a union movement in the attorney general’s office. But Attorney General Lori Swanson’s administration says Lawler was put on leave in March only because she had failed to follow the proper channels in raising ethics concerns …

Charging falsification? Make sure you can back up claim

04/07/2008

Employees who don’t follow company rules should be disciplined and possibly terminated. But employers must make sure they can back up their claims. Otherwise, they may face lawsuits if the fired employees belong to a protected class …

Quell the rumor mill while internal investigations progress

04/07/2008

Do you have safeguards to protect confidentiality while you conduct internal investigations of sexual harassment and other employee complaints? If not, you should. If an employer is careless and allows word of the allegations to get out to people who have no reason to know about them, the employer may face defamation claims …

Monitor to make sure harassment really has stopped

04/01/2008

It sometimes happens: Production floor or other entry-level employees lacking a—shall we say—sophisticated outlook on life go a little too far. Perhaps they play a practical joke that is offensive to a co-worker. Someone complains, and HR investigates. The culprits apologize, and everything settles down. Is the organization in the clear? …