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Florida

Legit discipline OK, even following complaint

03/16/2011
Some managers worry needlessly that any step they take after an employee complains about harassment will mean a lawsuit. But as long as you can support your disciplinary act with a good reason—and you keep good records showing how you made the decision—chances are good a court will dismiss the suit.

Supreme Court: Check boss bias before disciplining

03/08/2011
The Supreme Court’s latest unanimous employment-law opinion found that two biased supervisors conspired to get HR to fire someone. The lesson is clear: HR must independently check supervisors’ disciplinary recommendations to ensure they have no ulterior motives.

When disciplining, rely on employee’s initial confession

02/25/2011

When you confront an employee about a mistake or rule violation, she’ll probably offer some sort of quick explanation. She won’t have had time to come up with a million excuses. If her immediate response amounts to a confession she broke a rule, it’s entirely reasonable to act on that.

Managing employees in remote locations? Insist they follow the rules, just like everyone else

02/25/2011

As more and more employees work from locations away from the main office, employers are finding it challenging to manage their workforces. In some cases, that may be so difficult that it doesn’t seem worth having remote workers, especially when an employee tries to take advantage of the distance and begins to ignore the rules. Don’t let that happen.

6 tips to help managers approach–and turn around–poor performers

02/18/2011
No manager enjoys having “the talk” with employees. But ignoring an employee’s poor performance won’t make the problem go away; it’ll only make things worse. Tell managers they can improve the odds for positive change by following these six rules of employee engagement:

Florida sued over floating minimum wage calculations

02/14/2011
In 2004, state voters approved linking the minimum wage to inflation. All went well for a few years, but now a lawsuit says the state got the math wrong two years ago.

Tampa investigation leads to multistate overtime settlement

02/14/2011
When U.S. Department of Labor investigators first looked into ready-mix cement truck drivers’ complaints in Tampa, they didn’t know the investigation would lead to a $1.5 million recovery for CEMEX employees in eight states.

Employee who fears illness can quit, collect unemployment

02/14/2011
Workers whose employers give them good cause to leave a job are still entitled to unemployment compensation benefits.

Develop, implement and publicize policies that encourage employees to report harassment

02/14/2011

Here’s a big benefit to having a strong anti-harassment policy: The policy’s very existence helps protect employers against false claims. That’s because employees won’t be able to say they endured years of harassment and didn’t know how or to whom to report it. The key is making sure employees know about your policy.

Florida government agencies, contractors must use E-Verify

02/14/2011
One of Gov. Rick Scott’s first moves after taking office in January was to require all state agencies and contractors to use the federal government’s E-Verify online employment eligibility verification system for all its new hires. Scott’s move makes Florida the 14th state to adopt E-Verify for public employees, contractors or both.