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Indiana

When employee disobeys, document insubordination

01/02/2011
You can and should discipline employees who refuse to follow directions. Just make sure you document the insubordination.

Track discipline by type, punish everyone fairly

12/09/2010

Employers that mete out similar discipline for similar kinds of misconduct rarely lose subsequent lawsuits, even if the court considering the case thinks the punishment was excessive or a poor business decision. What matters is evenhanded application of the rules, not whether the rule is good or bad.

Are government workers protected against bias based on marital status? 7th Circuit passes

12/09/2010

Public employees have rights that private-sector employees don’t, including exercising constitutional rights like free speech and due process. That’s because constitutional rights apply to government actions. But do public employees enjoy the right to be free from retaliation based on marital association? Faced with that question, the 7th Circuit recently punted.

Take careful notes during all exit interviews

12/09/2010

Employees often reveal their true feelings during an exit interview, and they frequently wind up burning bridges in the process. Smart employers take notes during exit interviews, especially if they hear something that makes them wonder whether the employee should ever have been hired in the first place, let alone rehired for any future openings.

Spot supervisors’ hidden bias by monitoring daily stream of info flowing into HR

11/26/2010

Is a tendency toward discrimination hiding within your management ranks? If so, you may be courting real trouble. You need to ferret it out as soon as possible. But how? Obviously, few supervisors will openly advertise their bias. But you may be able to spot it in the reams of information that routinely flows into HR.

Transferring an employee may be retaliation, but merely discussing a transfer isn’t

10/12/2010

Retaliation is anything that would dissuade a reasonable employee from complaining about discrimination in the first place. That’s not to say every little negative thing that happens following a discrimination complaint is retaliation. Take, for example, a transfer to another position or shift.

Feel free to set generous FMLA notice terms, but rely on the law if you wind up in court

10/12/2010
Some employers cut more slack than the FMLA requires when employees fail to give timely notice that they want to take FMLA leave. The company typically might send an employee a letter informing her that, since she didn’t show up for her last scheduled shift or offered an explanation, she has five days to return or explain why she can’t work. If the reason is one covered by the FMLA, she may already have lost the right to claim FMLA leave.

Make amends fast if mistake harms worker

10/12/2010

Supervisors accused of discrimination sometimes lose their tempers—and then proceed to say or do something stupid. When that happens, act fast to step in and make amends. That’s especially important if the affected employee has walked off the job. The key is to make the employee understand that he still has a job and should return to work.

Driving restrictions may create ADA disability

09/16/2010

Generally, an individual whose medical condition results in driving restrictions isn’t considered disabled under the ADA. Courts consistently have held that driving is not a major life activity. But courts have also been willing to say that an individual whose driving restriction makes it hard to access available jobs may qualify for ADA protection because the inability to drive substantially impairs the ability to work.

Warn bosses: Hiding harassment will backfire

09/16/2010

Some low-level supervisors think a sexual harassment complaint will go away if they ignore it or get everyone except the victim to deny the allegations. It almost always backfires. Here’s why: Courts are willing to let juries decide who is telling the truth, even if it is one worker’s word against many.