Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Litigation Value: $75,000 (I’m sticking with my earlier assessment) A number of people have asked me whether Jan could really be fired for dating Michael. My answer? Probably. Well, at least in most states. Employers can, and often do, implement policies prohibiting their employees from engaging in romantic relationships with co-workers and, certainly, with subordinates. […]
by Michael E. Barnsback Local, state, and federal laws, rules, and regulations impose record-retention obligations on all employers. In the employment context, you have to retain employee hiring and termination records, payroll and benefits records, wage and hour records, immigration records (Form I-9), Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) records, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability […]
Litigation Value: 33 million???? Typically, the workplace is not an appropriate location to practice “creative discipline.” Such “creativity” can be, and often is, misconstrued. Take, for example, Ryan. Michael was retaliating against him for making disparaging remarks about the company. Probably not illegal but easily could have been had Ryan engaged in an activity protected […]
by Boyd Byers In physics, chaos theory is the concept that systems rely on an underlying order and are sensitive to initial conditions. As a result of this sensitivity, a small error or imprecision in the initial conditions grows at an enormous rate over time. Thus, two nearly identical sets of initial conditions applied to […]
The First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently developed a new two-part test for determining discrimination based on military service under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). This newly created test may prove problematic for employers. To find out why, read on. Basic Training for Supervisors: easy-to-read guides to avoid legal hazards, […]
As I said before, being a jerk isn’t illegal. Typically. And Michael’s conduct, although extremely self-centered and rude, probably does not violate anything more than the accepted standards of conduct in polite society. But rude conduct at work can be more problematic. At least according to a recent case from the Delaware Supreme Court. Recently, the […]
John, a regular full-time employee of BigCo, received a jury summons from federal court. Upon learning he had to appear for jury duty, he called Jamie, BigCo’s human resources representative, to find out what he needed to do. Jamie told him that he needed to take personal leave for his absence. After hearing John complaining, […]
LITIGATION VALUE: $800,000+ If an executive learns that a regional manager has sponsored a bachelor party in the warehouse, hired a stripper, offered to “deflower” the bride, taken an employee to a sex store, received a lap dance, and allowed a pervert dressed up like Benjamin Franklin to make a lewd statement to the receptionist, […]
by Mark I. Schickman Robert Sutton is a professor at the Stanford School of Engineering and the founder and codirector of Stanford’s Center for Work, Technology and Organization. He wrote a Harvard Business School article, which was then transformed into the best-selling book The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That […]
LITIGATION VALUE: $150,000 I empathize with Michael. There is nothing worse than the sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when you realize that you just accidentally forwarded that witty e-mail (which you worked on all morning) mocking your boss’s bad suits and strange habits to your boss, herself, rather than to your clever […]