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North Carolina

New expunged record law limits background checks

07/10/2013
North Carolina’s new Expunged Criminal Record bill will affect what questions employers may ask on job applications and during the hiring process. The law prevents most em­­ployers from asking about crimes and criminal charges that have been ex­­punged from job applicants’ records.

High Point firm hit with $1.5 million harassment verdict

07/10/2013
High Point-based New Breed Logistics apparently has some old boy problems at its Memphis, Tenn., location. A warehouse supervisor’s misdeeds have now cost the company $1.5 million, plus legal fees, after a federal jury found the company guilty of harassing and firing three female temporary workers.

Admitted wrongdoing is grounds for discharge

07/10/2013
If you think an employee has broken a rule, ask her. If she admits she did, that’s reason enough to terminate her. Just make sure you ask the question of every suspected rule-breaker before disciplining them.

Don’t worry that an innocent mistake will doom your case

07/10/2013
Employers sometimes mess up for perfectly innocent reasons. Everybody makes mistakes, and courts are usually quite hesitant to punish those mistakes if there’s no evidence showing some nefarious intent to harm an employee.

Think twice before firing employee who needs to take short disability leave

07/10/2013
Too many employers assume they can simply discharge a worker who isn’t yet eligible for FMLA leave, doesn’t have any other leave available and can’t work for a short period of time. That’s simply not always true. If the employee qualifies as disabled under the ADA, he may be entitled to a short leave as a reasonable accommodation.

Warn bosses: Shut up about working women!

07/10/2013
The office is no place to discuss gender roles or women’s presence in the workplace. Be sure to warn supervisors against such talk, even in private.

Worker hinting at harassment? Provide policy

07/10/2013

You probably make sure all your employees have read your sexual harassment policy. That doesn’t mean they always follow it. If an employee is hinting that she’s being harassed, your best approach may be to hand her another copy and urge her to report any problems right away.

Don’t worry a somewhat negative performance review will cost you a lawsuit

07/09/2013
Here’s one less thing to worry about when preparing performance reviews: Employees can’t use a poor review as an excuse to sue unless they can show it affected their job in some significant way, such as making the employee ineligible for a pro­­motion.

‘Wheel of Fortune’ could land worker in jail

06/19/2013
A North Carolina postal worker could wind up working in a prison mail room after pleading guilty to workers’ compensation fraud. Her problems began when former co-workers spotted her on the television game show “Wheel of Fortune.”

Waiting to fire slacker? Document your concerns

06/11/2013
If you have a poor-performing worker but don’t want to fire him before you have lined up a replacement, make sure you document all the problems—and your efforts to get him up to expectations.