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New York

Poor service an issue? Seek customer testimony

01/05/2012

If you have employees who deal directly with customers, how they handle those interactions may be grounds for dismissal. When a customer complaint plays a role in a discharge decision, make sure you can locate that customer later. Customers’ testimonies can be powerful in court because juries tend to view customers as impartial.

Carefully track angry employee’s complaints

12/12/2011
Do you have one of those em­­ployees who are never happy and always seem to find something to complain about? It may be tempting to ignore the constant complaining or chalk it all up to personality conflicts, but that would probably be a mistake. Carefully document the tension and your response.

Jury waivers: Your new alternative to arbitration agreements?

12/07/2011
Over the past couple of decades, there has been much debate over whether arbitration agreements can successfully prevent employees from asserting discrimination and other employment-related claims in court. Arbitration is seen as a risk-limiting tactic because juries are removed from the equation. Lost in this debate, however, is a simpler and perhaps more reliable means of managing an employer’s risk: a jury waiver.

AT&T settles ADEA suit

12/07/2011

AT&T has settled a suit filed by former workers who took early retirement offers from the company and then asked to be rehired. AT&T claimed early retirement packages made the workers ineligible to return to work.

Doggedly stubborn law firm sued over access for service animal

12/07/2011
You would think that a personal-injury law firm would be sensitive to a client’s need for a service dog, but apparently attorneys at the firm of Larkin, Axelrod, Ingrassia & Tetenbaum are unfamiliar with Title III of the ADA.

Hope arbitration can halt EEOC action? It won’t

12/07/2011

Employers may hope they can keep out of the EEOC’s crosshairs by having employees sign arbitration agreements. It usually doesn’t work. The EEOC is free to pursue litigation, even if you end up arbitrating employee claims at the same time.

Sometimes, even harsh judges take pity on employers

12/07/2011
When a jury concluded that a supervisor got a subordinate fired for complaining about race discrimination, it zapped the employer with huge punitive damages in addition to back pay. However, it will only have to pay a fraction of that amount.

When employee complains about bias, take control ASAP to prevent retaliation

12/07/2011

When an employee complains about perceived discrimination, how you treat the worker can greatly affect the outcome if the case reaches court. The best approach: Handle the case professionally, at the HR function level.

Conscientious objector vs. his military employer

12/07/2011
A company whose business is maintaining and repairing U.S. Navy equipment has agreed to settle with an employee who said his religious convictions prevented him from working on “weapons of war.”

When co-workers clash, offer transfer option

12/07/2011
Personality clashes almost always affect work, and inevitably one of the combatants will file a formal complaint. Defuse that tension by suggesting that one or both co-workers transfer to other positions. Offering the transfer option to warring co-workers isn’t an ad­­verse action as long as neither is forced to accept the offer.