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Employee Relations

Tollway EEO officer claims punishment after complaints

11/01/2010
An Equal Employment Opportunity officer with the Illinois Tollway has sued the agency, claiming she was suspended in retaliation for two reports she wrote alleging contracting improprieties by its former chief procurement officer.

4 steps for implementing a variable pay program

10/26/2010
Making variable pay work requires lots of interaction throughout the organization before, during and after implementation. As the business unit most likely in charge of implementation, it’s up to HR to make sure that happens. Here’s how to do it.

Steamed at Maxwell House, employee wins reinstatement

10/25/2010

Francena Smith will return to her former job at Kraft Foods’ Maxwell House division in Jacksonville following an arbitrator’s decision. Smith filed an EEOC gender discrimination claim alleging she was disciplined more harshly than several male workers who were also involved in incidents at the plant that caused contamination of the coffee.

Document all efforts to investigate complaints

10/25/2010
One of the best ways to show you took a harassment or discrimination complaint seriously is to come up with figures quantifying your efforts to resolve it. A critical step: logging the number of hours you spent investigating claims, along with a detailed account of all the other steps you took.

Sudden discipline problems? Check for retaliation by boss

10/25/2010

Some supervisors get angry when an employee complains about alleged discrimination. Then they may look for an excuse to discipline the employee. Watch for such sudden complaints of “poor performance.” If the worker was formerly a good employee and now suddenly is not, you may be staring down a sudden outbreak of retaliation.

Comp and benefits to the fore in retaining great staff

10/25/2010
Of all of HR’s priorities, keeping good employees is on top. You can be a hero in the post-recession years ahead. Act like one: Be brave enough to communicate the truth to both employees and to company execs. Assert your key role by trying the following:

Can we talk? How to tackle tough disciplinary conversations

10/19/2010

Managers often have to confront “challenging” employees who, while typically good at their jobs, too often display unprofessional or downright obnoxious behavior. The best way to tackle such problems is to meet with employees right when you spot the problem behavior. Here’s how to do so in a way that protects the organization from employee claims that they weren’t treated fairly.

Mopey workers? 8 ways to snap ’em out of it

10/18/2010

The economy isn’t the only thing that’s in a slump these days. Plenty of workers are in the doldrums, too. They feel stuck in their jobs because new ones are hard to come by. They can’t afford to retire. So they’re not performing as well as employees who look at their jobs as labors of love. Here’s how HR can help get them back on track.

The 4 key factors to keep ’em happy & in their seats

10/14/2010

The “at least I have a job” feeling is starting to wear off among employed Americans. After years of taking on new duties at their old pay, many are feeling overworked, underpaid and underpromoted. Two in five of them are seeking new jobs. Here are four key things your employees will look for elsewhere if you’re not providing it:

The HR I.Q. Test: October ’10

10/13/2010
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …