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Employee Relations

Internal harassment complaints: Avoid these 5 mistakes

11/19/2019
Receiving an internal harassment complaint is a critical moment for an employer. How you handle the complaint can affect workplace morale, the likelihood of a lawsuit or an administrative charge and the defenses available to you as an employer, among other things.

Internal complaints not protected as ‘free speech’

11/18/2019
The Texas Constitution gives Texas public employees the right to free speech. Thus, a public employee who speaks out in public about a matter of public importance cannot be punished for doing so. However, that’s not true if the speech occurs at work.

Which word doesn’t belong when disciplining a pregnant employee? That’s right: pregnant!

11/18/2019
A little bit of caution goes a long way toward limiting charges of pregnancy-bias discrimination.

Suspect employee theft? Skip the lie-detector test

11/14/2019
Federal law says most employers cannot require employees to take polygraphs.

Poor health doesn’t excuse poor performance

11/04/2019
Employees with a serious health condition are entitled to FMLA leave. That doesn’t mean poor health is an excuse for poor work.

What’s the biggest killer of productivity?

10/24/2019
Nearly 3,000 office professionals in the United States were asked, “What is the single biggest distraction that impacts your productivity at work?”

Harness the power of the thank-you note

10/11/2019
If the last time you remember penning an actual thank-you note was at age 10 when your mother insisted you couldn’t spend the birthday money Aunt Helen sent until you wrote one, you’re missing out on a simple way to connect with others—and enhance your own life.

Toxic culture triggers turnover, costs billions

10/01/2019
One in five Americans have left a job in the past five years due to bad company culture. The cost of that turnover is an estimated $223 billion, according to a new SHRM report on workplace culture.

Who are the real gossipers at work? You may be surprised

09/26/2019
More than two-thirds of white-collar workers admit to gossiping about co-workers or workplace issues.

Empower bosses to recognize employee contributions

09/23/2019
Every day at work ought to be Thanksgiving Day, according to Karl Ahlrichs, senior consultant for employee benefits at Gregory & Appel Insurance in Indianapolis. He offers these suggestions for inexpensively thanking employees for their efforts.