Tag: human resource policy

Employee Handbooks Doing More Harm Than Good in Your Workplace?

June 25, 2018

National Labor Relations Board has issued a Guidance for employers to follow to determine which policies included in its employee handbook or Human Resources manual could trigger an unfair labor practice (ULP) complaint. The NLRB categorizes these illegal policies as follows:

  •  Confidentiality rules specifically against wages, benefits, or working conditions—such as rules prohibiting employees discussing their wages.
  • Rules against joining outside organizations or voting on matters concerning employers

Employers, review your HR manual and employee handbook to ensure the following policies are absent!

Discrimination 101

November 30, 2017

Recently there have been a number of significant decisions regarding discrimination in the workplace highlighting the fact that preventing discrimination is a responsibility of every employer. Employers who fail to meet this challenge by failing to take all reasonable steps to prevent discrimination can be held directly responsible for discrimination or vicariously liable for the actions of their employees.

What constitutes discrimination has varied by court or even by judge; however, the law is clear that employers should ensure that they do not discriminate (or allow their employees to discriminate) on the basis of the following:

  • Race
  • Nationality
  • Sex
  • Religion
  • Age
  • Disability
  • Political affiliation
  • Marital status
  • Pregnancy
  • Gender/Gender identity/Gender orientation
  • Creed

This is not an exhaustive list depending on your jurisdiction (federal, state, municipal etc.) but it covers most of the basics.

For example, in a recent case, a major rail network was held vicariously liable for the actions of its employees who had sexually harassed a female manager. The manager was subjected to having graffiti of a “particularly graphic and highly offensive nature” written about her in the men’s bathroom at work. In a further incident, a pornographic magazine was pushed under the door of her office. The female manager successfully obtained a large monetary award as a token of the employer’s failures.

Employers will be held accountable for failing to take all reasonable steps to prevent discrimination and harassment in their workplace and to address complaint of discrimination and harassment quickly and confidentially. Some of the steps that employers should take to prevent harassment and discrimination are:

  • Having comprehensive anti-discrimination policies that are committed to by all workplace stakeholders (owners, operators, managers, directors, employees and contractors)
  • Having a grievance resolution procedure that is clear and concise
  • Providing information to your employee of where they can go to get assistance outside of your workplace
  • Training all employees on what is discrimination and harassment, and what behaviors are prohibited
  • Ensuring all managers are trained on how to appropriately investigate and handle complaints
  • Making discrimination and harassment a feature of discussion at staff meetings
  • Displaying posters and notices that clearly state that harassment and discrimination will not be tolerated

Advance Notice of Resignation – Do’s and Don’ts

April 16, 2017

Joe Blow quit his job this morning. His employer did not see it coming and though Joe knew he was going to leave sooner or later, he just did not get around to providing notice of resignation.

Employers, here are a few do’s to minimize the frequency of this occurrence:

  1. enter into an employment contract or provide an employee handbook requiring the employee to provide a certain amount of advance notice of resignation, on the penalty of a breach of contract lawsuit
  2. incentivize the employee by providing a bonus pay at resignation if adequate notice of resignation is provided
  3. if the employee is otherwise deserving, the employer can contract to provide an excellent written employment recommendation for the departing employee if adequate notice of resignation is provided
  4. include a stipulation in the employment contract or employee handbook making employees who leave without the required notice ineligible for re-hire by the employer

Also for employers, here are a few do nots, regardless how frustrating it is to have employees constantly leave you understaffed:

  1. withholding pay for hours already worked as penalty for lack of notice of resignation contravenes the FLSA
  2. contracting out of or convincing the employee to waive FLSA rights will not be enforceable before the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor

While advance notice of resignation of employment is not required by law in the state of Georgia, it appears employers through their conduct and workplace policies have the power to ensure that in more cases than not, it is provided.