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- John
R"We take your personnel issues... personally!"
. Glascock, Jr.
John R. Glascock, Jr.; Chairman/CEO |
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The "rules of the game" need to be set out in the employment
arena. Employers who fail to set out the basic policies and procedures of their
workplace will soon be very sorry. Consistency in procedures and treatment is
paramount. By having a handbook, an employer is able to maintain a consistent work
environment and will be able to reduce allegations of unfair treatment.
Although employers may follow number one above, too often we see
handbooks which give away to much authority. for example, handbooks often use
stepped discipline or require "cause" in order to terminate an employee.
An employer need not "throw the baby our with the bath water" and go too far
with the employment handbook. An employment handbook should reinforce and not
reduce the "employment at will" rules of the workplace.
Questions such as "Are you married?"; "What are the
circumstances of your medical condition?"; "How old are you?"; "When
do you plan to retire?" are just some of the many questions which not be asked in an
employment interview but often are.
The Americans with Disabilities Act has made it nearly mandatory to
have appropriately written job descriptions. This is really the very first step in a
proper hiring process. Job descriptions should be written in a fashion which amply
describes the physical tasks required of the job. Once good job descriptions have
been written it will be much easier to fill the position and to follow the ADA.
The Drug-Free Workplace Act actually encourages employers to drug test
employees, but many employers do not take advantage of it. It is completely
appropriate to drug test all employees following a conditional job offer. Further,
it is legal to require a drug test of any employee who has been involved in an accident or
committed any other act which would create reasonable suspicion that the employee has been
using alcohol or illegal drugs. Workplace safety can be increased by instituting a
drug-free workplace policy.
This is true in almost every state. In Indiana, for example, an
employee who has not been properly paid on a timely basis can sue the employer for three
times the amount of the pay, plus attorney's fees. These "wage claims" are
juicy lawsuits for hungry plaintiffs' attorneys. Wage claims are often brought when
commissioned salespeople are not paid properly. this happens many times because the
employer has made the commission calculation much too complicated. The KISS method
is far better.
The U.S. Supreme Court has essentially mandated that employers have a sexual
harassment policy and hold in-house seminars on the subject. To do so can help an
employer avoid liability altogether.
The three most important words in employment law are "Document,
document, document." An employer who appropriately documents good and bad
performance will be successful in defending employment decisions and will avoid the huge
liability that can result from costly discrimination lawsuits. Documentation is
absolutely the key to maintaining a satisfying workplace that is not the subject of
discrimination complaints.
Some employers simply do not believe in having annual employment
reviews. When it comes time to defend discrimination complaints, however, these
employers often regret their failure to document performance on an annual basis. If
you do provide evaluations, the reviews must be honest. It is just as bad to
suffer from "performance inflation" as it is to have no evaluations at all.
You should take as much time to fire as you do to hire. Before
someone is fired for cause we would hope the the employer has very good reasons which are
well-documented. unless the employee is absolutely driving you crazy and you feel
like you must fire the person immediately, make sure you have a properly documented file
before pulling the trigger.
