In yesterday’s Advisor, we presented the first two “fire-retardant” categories; today, three more, plus an introduction to a new online training system for your managers and supervisors.
Some employees are “fire-retardant”—that is, tricky to fire because of their position, but they’re not impossible to fire. Here are three more categories of employees who may be “protected.” [Go here for the first two categories.]
Employees on Medical, Military, or Other Protected Leave
Federal law, in particular FMLA and USERRA, and some state laws provide leave and job protection to qualifying employees. In addition employees may also be entitled to leave under the ADA or state workers compensation statutes.
Failure to grant leave or retaliation against those who request or take leave will result in lawsuits. And these suits are particularly difficult. (“While she was serving her country in Afghanistan, you were plotting her termination?)
Employees Who Have Contractual Rights
If you have entered into a contract with your employee, or if there is a union contract, then you are expected to live up to the terms of the contract.
There are enough legal nuances that you should prepare and interpret contracts with the assistance of your attorney.
You know your managers could do a better job if they were trained, and now there’s a convenient and reasonable way to get it done—BLR’s Leadership Library at the online, 24/7, Employee Training Center. Get More Information
Employees Who Have Asserted a Public Policy Claim
In states that recognize the public policy exception, you can fire employees for any reason except one that would violate an established public policy of the state. Recognized by courts in over 40 states, this is the most widely adopted employment-at-will exception.
What is public policy? Courts have found the public policy of a state is embodied in its constitution, statutes, and even judicial decisions. Not every state recognizes the same exceptions or applies them in the same way.
Public policy exceptions protect employees from having to choose between their jobs and the wishes of an employer that are inconsistent with the law or regulations.
Some of the most commonly recognized public policy claims:
- Filing for workers’ compensation
- Reporting safety or regulatory violations
- Refusing to commit criminal or unlawful acts
- Serving on a jury
- Making claims under benefits statutes
Employees who are “protected,” just one of, what, a couple of dozen things you need to train your managers and supervisors on? It’s never easy to find the time or the money, but leadership training has a tremendous ROI value for employers.
It’s no secret, one of the primary reasons people leave their jobs is poor management. By developing good managers you can help reduce turnover, improve morale and increase production, and that’s to say nothing of avoiding expensive lawsuits.
The Leadership Library provides you with courses designed to help you train on fundamental skills required for successful team management and organizational communication.
The Leadership Library for Managers and Supervisors allows you to:
- Train on demand. Employees can complete training anytime from anywhere. All they need is a computer and an internet connection.
- Reinforce training topics with engaging graphics and quizzes to test their knowledge.
- Monitor and track the results of your training program with the built-in recordkeeping tool.
- Save costs. The more you train, the more cost-effective the training becomes.
The Leadership for Managers and Supervisors Library is a Web-based training tool that can be utilized by any organization. All you need is a computer and Internet access, and the library is open 24/7.
Despaired of ever getting your managers and supervisors trained? It isn’t easy to fit it in—schedule-wise or budget-wise—but now there’s BLR’s Leadership Training for Managers and Supervisors. Train all your people, at their convenience, 24/7, for one standard fee. Get More Information
The Leadership Library trains your managers on the fundamental skills required for successful team management and organizational communication.
The courses cover a range of leadership and managerial topics, including the following:
- Business Writing Skills for Supervisors
- Dealing with Change: How Supervisors Can Help
- Motivating Employees: Tips and Tactics for Supervisors
- Effective Communication for Supervisors
- Conflict Resolution and Consensus Building
- Workplace Ethics for Supervisors
- Encouraging Employee Input
- Negotiation Skills For Supervisors
- Time Management for Supervisors
- Professional Behavior: What Supervisors Need to Know
- Performance Goals for Supervisors
- New Supervisors’ Guide to Effective Supervision
- Problem Solving for Supervisors
- How to Manage Challenging Employees
- Coaching for Superior Employee Performance: Techniques for Supervisors
- Effective Meetings: How-to for Supervisors
- Leadership Skills: What New Managers and Supervisors Need to Know
This turnkey service requires no setup, no course development time, no software installation, and no new hardware. Your employees can self-register, and training can be taken anytime (24/7), anywhere there is a PC and an Internet connection. Courses take only about 30 minutes to complete.
The Employee Training Center automatically documents training. As trainees sign on, their identifications are automatically registered. When the program is completed, the trainee’s score is entered. So, when you want to see who has been trained on any subject, or look at the across-the-board activity of any one employee, it’s all there, instantly available.
Course certificates can be automatically generated from within the training center and are automatically retained for recordkeeping purposes.
Get started today on helping your managers and supervisors be the best they can be!
When you really think about it, nearly every employee is “lawsuit-retardant” for one reason or another. Even if the person hasn’t recently engaged in a protected activity, he or she is likely to fall into one or more protected demographic categories – especially with the recent expansion of the ADA. For this reason, you should ALWAYS exercise caution and restraint with terminations and other discipline, and train your managers to do the same.
I agree with the last post. Using caution when hiring and or firing is necessary.