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Employee Relations

Old reviews don’t trump recent performance

05/10/2017
Employees who are fired for poor performance sometimes challenge the decision by citing previous performance reviews showing that they were good workers. Courts don’t always buy it, especially if the employer can show that the good evaluations happened under another supervisor or in different circumstances.

After complaint is filed, be sure to justify all discipline

04/25/2017
If an employee complains about discrimination, make sure any subsequent discipline is well justified. Sudden discipline against a worker whose record was previously clean can be viewed as retaliation.

Document circumstances before discipline, as well as punishment that you imposed

04/25/2017
Generally, if an employer operates in a fair and equitable fashion, there’s very little room for an employee to file and win a discrimination lawsuit. But how can HR know whether supervisors are imposing balanced discipline without regard to race, sex, religion or other protected characteristics?

ADA: The Limits of Accommodation

04/22/2017
White Paper published by The HR Specialist ______________________ The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) isn’t an open-ended demand that employers do whatever is necessary to accommodate workers with disabilities. The law requires employers to make “reasonable” accommodations to allow a disabled worker to perform the essential functions of his job. The key question: What is […]

Snapshot: Telecommuters are less engaged

04/15/2017
Forty-three percent of employees work from home at least some of the time, and 20% are full-time telecommuters.

What makes employees whistle while they work

04/14/2017

Here are things that all workers seek in a workplace, and how those things rate on the “happy” meter.

Court: Indefinite suspension same as firing

04/12/2017
Don’t think that simply suspending someone without pay while you investigate alleged wrongdoing will fly. If the suspension drags on without some sort of resolution, the employee can sue, alleging he or she was actually fired.

Document all details of disciplinary process

04/12/2017
If HR begins receiving multiple complaints about a supervisor, it may be time to demote or even fire him even if he remains convinced that verbal abuse is appropriate.

Conflict: OK to hold boss to higher standard

04/06/2017
When a supervisor and subordinate don’t get along, most of the onus for resolving the conflict falls on the supervisor. If he or she doesn’t rise to the occasion, the appropriate course of action might be to fire the boss.

Why your best talent is leaving, and 4 ways to win them back

04/06/2017

An interesting phenomenon occurs in most organizations. On day one, most employees are fully engaged as these fresh hires are excited to begin a new experience. And yet, according to Metrus Institute, engagement levels drop considerably during the first few years, and often far more than you would expect after a honeymoon period. Clearly something is going on, and most organizations need these four key actions to minimize this degradation of engagement and reboot it to formerly high levels.