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Employment Law

Personnel Files: How Separate Must They Be?

11/01/2003

Q. In a previous issue you said employers “must keep certain records separate from personnel files.” What, specifically, does “separate” mean—in separate drawers of the same file cabinet? In separate offices? How far apart do they need to be? —T.S., Illinois

Tell Supervisors to Make FMLA a ‘Work-Free Zone’

11/01/2003

Asking employees to perform even a minimal amount of work while they’re out on an FMLA absence could spark a lawsuit. And firing someone for refusing to pirtch in while out on leave almost surely will …

Can you accommodate disabilities you don’t know about?

11/01/2003
Issue: The Americans with Disabilities Act requires disabled employees to advise you about their need for accommodation. Benefit: Courts will side with you if you can …

Take ‘same race’ bias complaints seriously

11/01/2003
Issue: Managers sometimes ignore bias claims when the “discriminator” and the “discriminatee” are from the same protected group. Risk: Your organization is liable under bias claims regardless of who makes …

An unsigned contract can still be legally binding

11/01/2003
Issue: Some courts consider agreements, signed or unsigned, to be valid, binding contracts.
Risk: A manager’s verbal promise could lock your company into legal agreements it must follow …

Play it safe: Craft policy banning supervisor/subordinate relationships

11/01/2003
Issue: Personal relationships between employees and their bosses are ripe conditions for legal trouble.
Risk: Any form of quid pro quo (“this for that”) exchange of sexual favors for job …

Firing for ‘moral issue’ is legal but unwise

11/01/2003

Q. Our church day care center hired a woman who, we later found out, was living with a married man. Our director had “moral issues” with this situation and terminated her. I think the termination was illegal. Was it? —L.T., Florida

Don’t ‘call out’ staff slackers in public

10/01/2003
Reprimands and demotions are a normal part of managing people. But don’t let supervisors take it a step further by broadcasting a reprimand to those with no reason to know.
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Your ability to block e-mail from angry ex-employees just got harder

10/01/2003
Warning: Your former workers just got the OK to blitz your employees at work with e-mails, including those that criticize your employment practices, thanks to a much-anticipated ruling from the California …

Mind your P’s and P’s: Patience and proof are best defense against lawsuits

10/01/2003
Some managers are reluctant to discipline minority employees or others in “protected” classes. That’s not smart, and it can come back to haunt you if you don’t discipline all employees evenly. …