Category Archives: Documentation

Bush’s Employment Law Legacy

Compensation, Discrimination, Documentation

Since this is the last day of President George W. Bush’s presidency, I thought it appropriate to look back and see what employment laws have been passed while he has been in office. While generally considered lax on enforcement of employment laws (except with regard to employing illegal immigrants), there have been several sweeping changes that affected the employee/employer relationship in the last eight years.

The Americans with Disabilities Act was amended drastically in 2008. I have written extensively about the amendments on this blog, which you can read by clicking here. Surprisingly for an administration that was considered pro-business, these amendments that Bush signed were very favorable to employees and could mean a substantial increase in the number of lawsuits against companies for alleged disability discrimination.

The Family and Medical Leave Act was also amended to expand the act to cover military families, not only when a servicemember is wounded and needs care, but also to allow family members to take 12 weeks off whenever a servicemember is called up. In addition to this law, signed by Pres. Bush in January 2008, his Department of Labor finalized substantial changes to the regulations affecting the FMLA. Most of the changes were applauded by businesses for making the complicated FMLA easier to administer.

Pres. Bush signed legislation requiring Incremental increases to the minimum wage, which increased to $5.85 in the summer of 2007, $6.55 in July 2008, and will be finalized at $7.25 on July 24, 2009. Traditionally, businesses have protested minimum wage increases, saying that the economic impact on small businesses is too great to be passed on and negatively drags down profits. I have seen no study linking the current economic crisis to the minimum wage increases that began in the summer of 2007, but the timing of the increases and the economy going into the toilet is worth considering. Continue reading Bush’s Employment Law Legacy →

Employees Who Lie

Discrimination, Documentation, Termination,

Have you ever discovered that an employee lied about something important at work? For example, what would you do if an employee called in sick on two scheduled workdays and then you found out she had really been in Las Vegas during her sick leave?

The Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a city’s discharge of a worker for dishonesty about her sick leave was a valid reason for discharge even though she produced a doctor’s note confirming her illness. Hughes v. City of Bethlehem (October 2, 2008). The city suspended her without pay while they investigated her sick leave excuse and confirmed her little gambling jaunt. Since the investigation confirmed the employer’s suspicions of dishonesty, the city terminated her job.

She, of course, sued for everything but the kitchen sink, including gender discrimination, disability discrimination, unlawful retaliation for seeking accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, violation of Family and Medical Leave, and deprivation of procedural due process, since she was employed by a governmental agency.

Fortunately, the Third Circuit was able to see through all the allegations to the main point: Continue reading Employees Who Lie →

Avoiding Ageism Claims, Part 3

Discrimination, Documentation, Termination,

As I have pointed out in the earlier posts in this series on age discrimination, the demographics of the available workforce are soon going to require you as an employer to recruit and retain older workers. With historically low unemployment rates in the Texas Panhandle, that time may already be upon us.

Many business owners and managers that I work with still seem to believe that at age 65, an employee becomes more of a liability than an asset. I recognize that group health insurance premium rates play a big part in that perception, but there is also an assumption that an older employee’s cognitive and technical skills diminish at that point. That may be true for a few employees, but many senior citizens do not exhibit those losses and remain solid performers. They often demonstrate much more loyalty, commitment, experience and emotional maturity than their younger coworkers.

However, there will come a time when you have had enough of an older worker who is not performing up to your expectations. Then you have to consider terminating that worker’s employment. How do you do this without guaranteeing an age discrimination lawsuit? VERY CAREFULLY! Here are a few tips on firing your oldest workers without your actions backfiring upon you: Continue reading Avoiding Ageism Claims, Part 3 →

Employee Resignation Form

Documentation, Forms and Policies, Termination

I’m thinking of putting a form or policy online each Friday to help you as a Texas employer. Let me know what you think of that idea by leaving a comment.

Last Friday I posted a written warning form that you can adapt for your Texas business. This week I decided that I would post a written employee resignation form.

It is so important that you get your resigning employees to sign a written resignation. Continue reading Employee Resignation Form →

Written Warning Form

Documentation

One of the most frequent questions I receive from clients concerns how to “write up” an employee for a disciplinary violation. Written warnings are so important if there is ever a dispute about unemployment or discrimination. It is very difficult to defend your business on the basis of an employee’s poor performance or violation of the rules if you don’t have anything in writing to support your defense.

Written warnings also serve as a clear reminder to the employee that his/her behavior is unacceptable and outlines the necessary steps to improvement. Many employees won’t take your verbal corrections very seriously, but almost all employees pay attention when they receive a written warning.

So I’m providing you with a simple written warning form that you can use in your business.  Continue reading Written Warning Form →

Recordkeeping Critical to Avoiding Legal Liability

Documentation

                If you get sued by one of your employees, the first thing your defense lawyer will want to see is the employee’s personnel file. Many employers don’t know what to keep in their personnel files or don’t retain the records long enough.

               The most important records if you get sued will be those concerning your employee’s performance. Formal evaluations are helpful, but regular notes of day-to-day problems with your employees are even better.

               You need to get into the habit of writing a note to the file every time your employees perform well or poorly. The notes do not have to be pretty; they can even be on scratch paper. Just be sure to date each note.

               Other than performance notes, many other records should be readily available on each employee. The simple checklist at the end of this article should help you decide what employment records to create, file and retain so that you can defend yourself adequately against any employee claims. Continue reading Recordkeeping Critical to Avoiding Legal Liability →