Tag: Documentation

Document Employee Behavior Today to Avoid Lawsuits Tomorrow

by Eric B. Topel Charles “Slip” Shod has been employed by your company for more than two years, during which time you have received repeated complaints from vendors about his performance. In your capacity as a member of human resources, you begin reviewing the other matters on which Slip has been working and determine that […]

How Employers Can Avoid Becoming an EEOC Statistic: Part 1

by Amy M. McLaughlin In its year-end statistics, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported that 75,768 discrimination charges were filed against private-sector employers in 2006. That was the first increase in charge filings in four years. By 2008, the total number of charges filed with the EEOC had jumped 25% to 95,402. With workplace […]

Giving Accurate Performance Evaluations

Seasons greetings! It’s that time of year again. No, we aren’t talking about shopping ’til you drop, New Year’s resolutions, or holiday parties (at least not in this article). It’s time to start thinking about employee performance evaluations. Evaluate your employment practices, including performance evaluations, with the Employment Practices Self-Audit Workbook A gift that keeps […]

Treat Holidays with Care to Avoid Religious Discrimination, Harassment

Happy holidays! But which holidays? Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid ul-Adha, Kwanzaa, the winter solstice? All of the above? None of the above? One of December’s chills, at least for HR professionals, can be a little shiver of trepidation over handling employees’ varying religious needs with sufficient sensitivity. Do you put up a tree? What kind of […]

Downsizing: Plan Ahead to Avoid Trouble

by Gary Fealk Downsizing can be an effective strategy for building a more efficient organization going forward. But it can also lead to legal liability and may not accomplish the desired cost savings unless an employer implements a carefully considered plan. HR Guide to Employment Law: A practical compliance reference manual covering 14 topics, including […]

How to Say Goodbye to an Employee

Many folks will tell you that the relationship between an employee and his employer is a lot like a marriage or a long-term personal relationship. The breakup of that relationship can be nasty, particularly if it has been a long-term association and one of the parties believes he has been treated unfairly. The situation can […]

New Year’s Resolutions for HR

Around the New Year, many of us start to consider what we could do better in the coming year. We consider things like joining a gym and eating more vegetables. It’s also a good time to think about how we could improve our work performance. Audio Conference: New Year, New Laws, New Employee Handbook? What […]

Tips for Creating Sound Documentation to Avoid Lawsuits by Employees

Although there’s no sure-fire method to prevent a disgruntled employee from filing a lawsuit against an employer, there’s a readily available tool that can help you defeat the majority of lawsuits: documentation. Employment lawsuits often are won or lost on the soundness and completeness of an employer’s recordkeeping practices. Here are a few tips to […]

What Employers Should and Shouldn’t Keep in Employees’ Personnel Files

Labor and employment law attorneys get a lot of questions from employers about personnel files. The most frequently asked question is, “What should I include, and who gets to see them?” Read on as we attempt to sort out some of those questions. HR Guide to Employment Law: A practical compliance reference manual covering 14 […]