The number one mistake I see is untrained supervisors responding negatively to employees’ requests for reasonable accommodation, says attorney Mark Schickman. They just say “no” without any interactive discussion.
Even if you’re sure there’s no hope of accommodation, you have to have the interactive discussion, he says. And once the refusal is made, and the employee complains, it’s too late to go back.
Schickman, a partner at Freeland Cooper & Foreman LLP in San Francisco, joined other attorney experts from the Employers Counsel Network to deliver hard-hitting answers to questions about the most expensive mistake HR managers make.
The remarks came at BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, held recently in Las Vegas.
H1B Public Access File
For immigration expert Hector Chichoni, partner at Duane Morris LLP in Miami, the most common problem is failure to maintain the public access files for H1B determinations.
The requirements for the file are extensive, and the file has to be available for inspection by the public with a day of its submittal. Many employers don’t have this file at all, Chichoni says.
Your complete California employment law desk reference—fully updated for 2012!
Limiting Those Who Need to Know
The most common mistake Dinita James sees is failure to limit the number of people in the know about employees who make complaints, request leave, or take other protected actions. The most basic defense to a charge of retaliation is that the decision maker did not know about the activity. That’s the end of the retaliation claim.
When everyone knows about the protected activity, any negative action taken by anyone will be interpreted as retaliation.
And Don’t Forget State Law
Another common—and costly—mistake made by supervisors and HR professionals alike is failing to consider the many unique nuances of California employment law.
Unless you’re a research superstar, you might not know all you should about these state laws. Why? Unlike the federal government, which puts all new regulations into the Federal Register, states publicize their new regulations in obscure journals, not widely available. Yet officials still expect you to comply.
Fortunately, tools are available to help you keep up with state laws. One is our newly updated 2012 Guide to Employment Law for California Employers. This valuable desk reference has kept employers apprised of state law and its differences from the federal law for years. Here are some reasons they tell us they won’t be without it:
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Presents and compares federal and state law on 200 employment topics. For each topic, first there’s a plain English explanation of what you need for federal compliance. Then, right next to the federal, there’s an explanation of what California requires.
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Download your free copy of Training Your New Supervisors: 11 Practical Lessons today!
The failure to limit info to those who need to know might be one of the reasons the number of retaliation charges is surging. I read that retaliation was the number 1 charge in the latest EEOC stats.
The failure to limit info to those who need to know might be one of the reasons the number of retaliation charges is surging. I read that retaliation was the number 1 charge in the latest EEOC stats.