EEOC is coming after anyone not using a unique interactive process, says attorney Stacie Caraway. They want to see one-on-one engagement.
Caraway, of counsel with Miller & Martin in Chattanooga, Tennessee, joined Dinita James, partner with Ford & Harrison in Phoeniz, Arizona, and moderator Charles Plumb, a partner with McAfee and Taft in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in a wide-ranging panel discussion of the challenges of 2012 at BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium in Las Vegas.
[Go here for the panel’s tips on wage and hours issues.]
Time Off Accommodation? Give Two More Months!
As far as granting extra time off as an accommodation, Caraway says the EEOC always wants 2 more months. If your policy says employees are terminated after 12 months, as many policies do, the EEOC will ask, why not 14?
To deal with this, some of Caraway’s clients are dialing back to 6-montth termination policies.
Don’t Use Jargon with Employees
When you are talking to employees, Caraway says, use lay language. For example, instead of saying, “I want to engage in the interactive process to see about reasonable accommodations,” say, “I’d like to talk to you about your options.”
Talk to Supervisor And …
When considering reasonable accommodations, always talk to someone in addition to the direct supervisor. Direct supervisors are likely to respond with a kneejerk “no” to any accommodation request, says Caraway. You need to be able to show you gave thorough consideration.
The 2012 challenge—budgets still tight, but employees ready to jump ship at the first hint of economic recovery. Find out practical, tested strategies to keep management satisfied and employees on board—attend BLR’s new January 17 webinar Compensation Strategies for 2012: Smart Tactics for Uncertain Times.Get info here.
Push Back Against Doctors?
James notes that you can push back against doctors who want to keep extending leave. If the doctor can’t say that the employee will return at some future point, the person is probably not a “qualified individual.”
Make Accommodations Conditional
When you offer an accommodation, like new hours or new duties or a new way to allocate job duties, make it conditional, says Caraway. Say, “We’re not sure this accommodation (new hours, new duties, etc.) will work, but we’ll try it out.” Otherwise, the employee thinks the accommodation is approved even if it turns out to be a nightmare for the department when you put it into practice.
Show You Went Through the Process
Plumb says that you be prepared to show an investigator or a jury that you went through the interactive process. Be sure to indicate, he says, that you:
- Solicited the employee’s ideas as to what accommodations might work
- Had a huddle with the employee to discuss the options
- Got together with others who know the job to explore the possibilities
The year 2012, from accommodation to wage and hour challenges, isn’t going to be an easy one. As we emerge from the economic downturn, employees are growing increasingly impatient and restless. They’ve worked hard throughout the recession, often with fewer resources and for less money, and now they want to be rewarded for their loyalty.
- You must keep your organization’s salary structures competitive as the economy improves—but you can only slice your compensation budget into so many pieces.
- You’re struggling to keep compensation costs under control, but your frontline workers and supervisors are restless for raises—and your very best workers are starting to see better offers elsewhere.
- For 2012, you’ll be making compensation decisions with blind faith, since no one’s really sure where the economy is heading.
Fortunately, there’s a timely BLR webinar—Compensation Strategies for 2012: Smart Tactics for Uncertain Times.
Start the year with great ideas and practical tips—join us on January 17 for this very practical 90-minute webinar, as our speakers—nationally recognized compensation experts—share best practices for 2012’s post-recession, performance-based environment.
Aggressive DOL just one of 2012’s comp challenges. Get practical, field-tested strategies that will keep employees and management happy. Attend BLR’s January 17 webinar Compensation Strategies for 2012: Smart Tactics for Uncertain Times. Get info here.
You’ll learn:
- How to formulate compensation contingency plans so you’re well-prepared in 2012
- How to link the right compensation practices to the appropriate category of employees
- Ideas for staying competitive without breaking the bank
- Opportunities that lie half-hidden among the challenges
- Compensation planning you should be doing right now if you’re a public company, a small or medium-sized private company, or a nonprofit organization
- New regulations and public scrutiny on the compensation horizon
- How to effectively plan around a Congress with an uncertain agenda
- Strategies for retaining valuable employees who do not have an ownership stake
- What happens when a CEO’s own lack of salary increase acts as a false cap on all salaries, and how to get around it
- How to manage compensation as an open topic of conversation among employees
- What to do when employees come to you armed with reports from websites as evidence that they deserve a pay increase
- New, non-cash methods that work to reward employees and make them feel engaged and valued
Compensation Strategies for 2012:
Smart Tactics for Uncertain Times
Tuesday, January 17, 2011
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I agree that you need to use non-jargony language when engaging in the actual interactive-process discussion, but it’s a good idea to provide written notice that you are indeed engaging in the interactive process. That way, the employee can’t later claim he or she didn’t know.