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Pennsylvania

Partners in time: Balance FMLA and ADA when employee’s serious illness is a disability

01/05/2012
Employees with a serious health condition are entitled to take intermittent FMLA leave when their conditions flare up. And disabled employees are entitled to reasonable accommodations for their disabilities. That can include time off. Employers must therefore consider granting intermittent FMLA leave among the possible ADA reasonable accommodations when an employee has a serious health condition that is also a disability.

Amtrak HR exec decides she won’t be railroaded

01/05/2012
Amtrak will give an HR executive working at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station a salary boost of almost $16,000 to bring her into parity with what the railroad pays men doing the same job. She will also receive a lump-sum payment of $171,000.

Unhappy employee? Carefully track complaints

01/05/2012

You know this employee—the one who’s never happy and always finds something to complain about. It may be tempting to ignore repeated complaints, but that’s probably a mistake. Carefully document all her gripes. Those records could come in handy later if she files a lawsuit.

Ready to fire worker with poor attitude? Document examples before you deliver pink slip

01/02/2012

If a supervisor believes an employee has such a negative attitude that it warrants firing, do your HR duty! Immediately ask for documentation of the problem. It can’t wait until after the termination occurs. After-the-fact, subjective assessments may not survive a court challenge.

Ensure FMLA leave doesn’t affect evaluations

01/02/2012

When employees lose their jobs, they often look for a reason to sue. One common tactic is to argue that a layoff was used as an excuse to get rid of “unproductive” employees, especially those who take advantage of their right to FMLA leave. That’s why HR must develop a performance-appraisal system that documents that having taken FMLA leave wasn’t a factor when you evaluated employees’ work.

How to: Conduct your annual HR policy review

12/23/2011
We’re already a month into 2012. It’s time to review your employment policies and practices in light of the government’s aggressive efforts to enforce employment laws. The EEOC, the DOL and a host of other agencies are all cracking down on employers. Good, up-to-date policies are your best defense against the fed’s stepped up scrutiny.

Beware perils of interfering with intermittent FMLA leave

12/13/2011
Let’s face it: It makes a manager’s job harder when employees are out on FMLA leave. That’s especially true with intermittent leave. Don’t let those hard feelings turn into an FMLA interference lawsuit. Instead, insist that managers honor approved intermittent leave without hassling the employee.

Required: Investigating all harassment complaints Not required: Providing a perfect workplace

12/05/2011
Sometimes an employee may feel uncomfortable with the close proximity and may even interpret another employee’s innocent behavior as sexual harassment. While you must respond to every sexual harassment complaint and investigate, that doesn’t mean each incident warrants corrective action. Use common sense.

Passage of time can kill retaliation claim

12/05/2011

There’s some good news for em­­ployers concerned about retaliation after an employee participates in protected activity such as testifying in another employee’s discrimination lawsuit. If a substantial amount of time has passed since the employee’s testimony, any disciplinary action you take probably won’t be enough to form the basis of a retaliation claim.

After hours: How to regulate employees’ off-duty behavior

11/29/2011
Employers can regulate what employees do away from work—but only within narrow limits. There are often good reasons to. Some off-duty acts reflect poorly on employers, raise insurance costs and create conflicts of interest. Here’s how to make the call.