Monday, May 12, 2008

What else I'm reading this week #30


After an exciting week in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I have returned. I hope everyone enjoyed some of the hits from the archives I ran last week in my absence. Before we get back to regular posting, let's take a look at some of what else we missed last week.

Recall that in Dewitt v. Proctor Hosp., the 7th Circuit permitted an associational disability discrimination claim to proceed based solely on evidence that the employment decision was made on the basis of increased medical costs. The Workplace Prof Blog reports that the 10th Circuit has followed suit, and permitted a family to bring a claim that they were fired because of healthcare costs associated with their son's illness.

The Pennsylvania Employment Law Blog provides a very thorough comparison of an employer's responsibilities under the FMLA and the ADA, with a helpful chart included.

Last week gave us two interesting posts on the improper use of workplace computers -- the Evil HR Lady on how to handle a termination for "extremely inappropriate web-site browsing", and The Word on Employment Law's John Phillips on potential corporate liability for an employee's use of company computers to store or transmit inappropriate images of children.

One more from the Evil HR Lady, on managing employees' expectations. To add my two cents, I think 90% of employment relations issues could be avoided simply by management having honest conversations with employees about the expectations of the job and the workplace - performance, production, conduct, rules, and policies should all be laid out up front (where possible, in a writing the receipt of which is signed by the employee) to avoid any confusion or disappointment down the road.

Kris Dunn, The HR Capitalist, writes about one company that decided that penalizing employees for smoking made for bad business and rescinded a wellness $100 penalty. Everyone should also check out Kris's new blog, Fistful of Talent. Kris describes it as a conversation on talent, which includes recruiting, in addition to everything you do with the talent once you've got it in the door.