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Discipline / Investigations

Investigation must be reasonable–not perfect

01/03/2011

Have you worried that your investigations into employee wrongdoing aren’t good enough? Stop fretting. As long as your investigations are fair and reasonable, they don’t have to be perfect. The workplace isn’t a court of law, and employers don’t have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an employee broke a rule.

It’s safe to tell the truth about former employees

01/03/2011
Let’s say you have fired someone for breaking company rules, conduct so severe that the police get involved. What should you tell people who call later, looking for references on the former employee? The truth!

Credibility plays part in handling harassment

01/03/2011

When you have to fire a protected-class employee for sexual harassment, there’s always the fear that he will turn around and sue for discrimination. But remember: Credibility plays a part in deciding what happened in cases of alleged harassment. If a respected and trusted employee made the harassment accusation, the fired worker will have a hard time winning a lawsuit.

When employee disobeys, document insubordination

01/02/2011
You can and should discipline employees who refuse to follow directions. Just make sure you document the insubordination.

When conducting bias investigations, you don’t need to be perfect–just reasonable

12/31/2010
Here’s a bit of good news for HR professionals who worry that they aren’t conducting perfect investigations. Courts just want to see employers act reasonably. That doesn’t mean investigations must prove employee misconduct beyond a reasonable doubt.

Restaurant employee will serve time for wire fraud

12/30/2010
Jeremy David Schweickert will serve a 27-month sentence in federal prison for his part in a scheme to defraud his former employer, Tampa-based OSI Restaurant Partners.

Property manager pleads guilty in VA foreclosure scam

12/30/2010
A former sales manager for Palm Beach-based Ocwen Loan Servicing has pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges in connection with his management of foreclosed homes for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Past tolerance of misbehavior doesn’t mean it can continue

12/30/2010
Some employees believe that if their supervisor tolerates misconduct, those further up the workplace hierarchy can’t do anything about it. That’s not true.

Women: Holiday Inn manager expressed himself inappropriately

12/01/2010
A North Carolina hotel management company finds itself exposed to legal liability because the manager of the Holiday Inn Express in Simpsonville, S.C., allegedly exposed himself to female employees.

Beware disciplining worker who has claimed harassment

12/01/2010
Unless an employee has a poor performance history, don’t fire him a few days after he reports harassment.