Discipline / Investigations

Even ‘tolerable’ harassment will nail you

10/01/2000

For months, Richard Corliss hurled racial slurs at two African-American co-workers at McDonald’s. When the two women complained, their supervisor said he couldn’t control Corliss’ mouth, claimed he didn’t know how …

Let employee bring co-worker to inquiry meeting

09/01/2000

If one of your employees wants to bring a co-worker along to an investigative meeting that could result in discipline, you’d better let him. Union employees …

Company’s ‘head in the sand’ response racks up punitive damages

09/01/2000

Faced with a bad situation, Wax Works record stores managed to make it even worse, and paid a big price. One of Wax Works’ store managers, Kerry Ogden, had compiled …

Playin’ it cool: How to handle an EEOC bias charge

08/01/2000

When a charge of discrimination lands in your lap from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or its equivalent state agency, the way you respond …

Put reasonable limits on who can take complaints

07/01/2000

Two female supermarket employees complained to a district manager that their store manager had sexually harassed them. The district manager promptly …

Stop ‘equal opportunity harasser’ even if law doesn’t cover you

07/01/2000

Steven and Karen Holman are not only married and work together in the same maintenance department, but they also filed suit together claiming sexual harassment …

Fix classification errors promptly or ‘window of correction’ will close

06/01/2000

A group of managers and registered nurses who worked for Santa Clara County, Calif., were classified as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), making …

Watch for warning signs of workers’ comp fraud

06/01/2000

Q. We’ve had a number of suspicious injuries at work this year. We don’t want to jump to conclusions, but how can we determine if these injuries are part of a workers’ comp insurance fraud scheme? —K.H., Mississippi

Have clear conduct rules or risk ADA nightmare

05/01/2000

A fight with a co-worker drove Manuella Dionisio Reed to tears. She was so upset that she had to leave work and ended up in the hospital for days. Reed, …

You must pay for all work, even if it’s not authorized

04/01/2000

Q. In the October 1999 issue, you explained that nonexempt employees who work more than 40 hours in a week are entitled to overtime for all hours over 40, regardless of whether the overtime was authorized. Do we owe overtime if a nonexempt employee works more than his or her scheduled hours even if the total number of hours worked does not exceed 40? —J.P., Illinois