Standing up for your employees

Last night, the Philadelphia Flyers rallied from 3 goals down to take game 1 of their first round series from their cross-state rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Right now, you’re all thinking to yourselves, what can this possibly have to do with employment law or employee relations?

Four months ago, Dallas Stars’ center Steve Ott delivered a hit to Flyers’ star Claude Giroux, who had just returned to the lineup from a concussion. At the end of the period, Flyers’ coach Peter Laviolette chased down Ott in the Stars’ tunnel and confronted him about what he perceived as a cheap shot. According to Philly.com, Giroux appreciated his coach’s action: “It’s good to see we have each other’s back.”

Two weeks ago, Laviolette again stood up for his players, following a fight-filled conclusion to a game against the Penguins. The fights were precipitated by what Laviolette called a “gutless” move by the Pens to put its enforcers on the ice at end of a 6-3 blowout. As all 10 players on the ice fought, Laviolette stood on the boards yelling at Pens’ assistant coach Tony Granato. After the game, Laviolette defended his tirade (via CSNPhilly.com): “Those guys hadn’t played in 12 minutes; it was a gutless move by their coach.” Again, Giroux stood up for his coach (via CSNPhilly.com): “He’s got our back…. He’s an intense coach who loves his players.”

Which brings me back to last night. The Flyers fell into a quick 0-3 hole. They needed to rally. And, they did. Don’t think for a minute that whatever motivation Laviolette used to jump-start his team had added impact because his players know that he stands up for them. He has their backs, and they responded with 4 unanswered goals and a 1-0 series lead.

Your organization is not a hockey team, but there is a lesson to learn from Peter Laviolette. If you have your employees’ backs, they will reciprocate. You never know when you’ll need your employees to rally for you (overtime, sales quotas, deadlines, etc.). Make it easier for them to go the extra mile by standing up for them when they need it. Reward good performance. Recognize star performers. Take complaints seriously. Have an open-door for your employees. Your employees will pay you back in spades.

What’s on your tombstone?

At his Work Matters blog, Mike Maslanka asked the following question: “What will be on your tombstone?” Don’t get me wrong. I love my job and would not trade what I do for a living for any other profession. But, please kill me again if my tombstone is work-related. I’d much prefer, “He was a great husband and dad,” or, “He loved his family,” to, “He could write a great brief,” or, “He could oral argue with the best of them.”

That’s my tombstone, but what about yours? A tombstone is your legacy. It’s a phrase that is supposed define you for all eternity. That’s why it's etched in stone. So, if you could pre-write your own tombstone as an employer, what would it say? How does this sound? “A company that treated everyone fairly.” Or, “Employees loved to work there.” So, what does your tombstone say? Leave me a comment below, or, post on Twitter with the hashtag #HRtombstone.

How to avoid your organization’s muppet manifesto

Beware the ides of March.
– Julius Caesar, Act I, scene i.

2,056 years ago, Julius Caesar was assassinated. To mark that occasion two years ago, I wrote that employers should be wary of the types of problem employees within their organizations. That lesson rings as true today as it did then: certain archetypes of employees bear a knife in the form of a potential lawsuit, or worse.

Yesterday, Greg Smith offered his resignation to Goldman Sachs by way of a scathing op-ed in the New York Times. The banking giant thought enough of Smith to include him in its college recruiting video and promote him from summer intern all the way to executive director. Yet, I’m certain it had no idea that he harbored a level of unparalleled disenchantment and dissatisfaction that led him to a very public (and embarrassing) resignation. Smith objected to a corporate culture of greed that included his colleagues privately referring to clients as “muppets” (hence, the press labeling Smith’s op-ed the “muppet manifesto”). I’m not here to defend Smith. In fact, his very public bridge burning should cause any prospective employer great pause before hiring him.

In my piece, Beware these types of problem employees, Smith is archetype number 10: the unhappy employee. You must know what’s going on with your employees. Be aware and tackle these problems head-on. Do not provide your employees the opportunity to stab you in the back.

The value in delivering good news

Yesterday started out pretty lousy. My kids were all bent of shape because the cable box wasn’t working and they couldn’t watch their morning cartoons with their breakfast. (Thinking back to when I was 3 and 5, I would have been out of whack too.) So I spent more than an hour on the phone with AT&T’s customer service, which is not how I intended to spend my morning. Needless to say, I was in a pretty sour mood when I got to the office.

That sour mood lasted until the mail came at 11:30. Yesterday’s mail included an opinion and order granting summary judgment in my client’s favor in a discrimination and retaliation case. Sadly, the opportunities to deliver really good news to a client are seldom. Hearing the elation in my client’s voice when I told him that he had been vindicated in his decision to terminate an employee is what makes this job worthwhile.

I am not telling this story to toot my own horn. I’m always proud of the work I do for clients, and whether a court grants or denies a summary judgment motion is out of my control. Instead, I tell this story to focus on the part we can control—the ability to deliver really good news.

Think about the last time you pulled an employee aside to offer praise. I bet it’s been a little while. It’s not your fault. We’re all busy, and just don’t think about communications with employees unless it’s performance-related. We get bogged down in the bad and ignore the good.

Today, I want you to take a minute to offer a deserving employee some good news. Whether it’s a pat on the back for a job well done, or some praise for going the extra mile on a project, or something else entirely, take a minute to brighten someone’s day. Then, report back on the value you found in the experience.

In the wake of a tragedy, more on humanity and human resources

Yesterday was a tragic day in Northeast Ohio. I extend my thoughts and prayers to anyone affected by the horrors at Chardon High School.

Today, Chardon’s schools are closed. Kids will be home from school. Some, because their parents will be working, will be left to deal with their grief in solitude, trying to understand and come to terms with what they witnessed. Neither the FMLA, nor any other leave law in Ohio, covers these circumstances.

Last week, I wrote about the need to put the “human” back in human resources. For any company that has employees with children who attend Chardon schools, today is great day to start down this path of humanity. Forget what the law does or does not require of your employees, and allow them the day to spend with their grieving, angry, and confused children. What you might lose in productivity your employees will repay you in gratitude and good will.

8 things you need to know about holiday pay

Today is Presidents’ Day. According to a recent poll of employers conducted by SHRM, 34% of employers will be closed today. Whether you are closed on any holiday, here are 8 things you should know about holiday pay for your employees. All of these guidelines assume that your company lacks a collective bargaining agreement.

1. Do you have to pay for holidays? You are not required to pay non-exempt employees for holidays. Paid holidays is a discretionary benefit left entirely up to you. Exempt employees present a different challenge. The Fair Labor Standards Act does not permit employers to dock the salary of an exempt employee for holidays. You can make a holiday unpaid for exempt employees, but it will jeopardize their exempt status, at least for that week.

2. What happens if holiday falls on an employee’s regularly scheduled day off, or when the business is closed? While not required, many employers give an employee the option of taking off another day if a holiday falls on an employee’s regular day off. This often happens when employees work compressed schedules (four 10-hour days as compared to five 8-hour days). Similarly, many employers observe a holiday on the preceding Friday or the following Monday when a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday when the employer is not ordinarily open.

3. If we choose to pay non-exempt employees for holidays, can we require that they serve some introductory period to qualify? It is entirely up to your company’s policy whether non-exempt employees qualify for holiday pay immediately upon hire, or after serving some introductory period. Similarly, an employer can choose only to provide holiday pay to full-time employees, but not part-time or temporary employees.

4. Can we require employees to work on holidays? Because holiday closings are a discretionary benefit, you can require that employees work on a holiday. In fact, the operational needs of some businesses will require that some employees work on holidays (hospitals, for example).

5. Can we place conditions on the receipt of holiday pay? Yes. For example, some employers are concerned that employees will combine a paid holiday with other paid time off to create extended vacations. To guard again this situation, some companies require employees to work the day before and after a paid holiday to be eligible to receive holiday pay.

6. How do paid holidays interact with the overtime rules for non-exempt employees? If an employer provides paid holidays, it does not have to count the paid hours as hours worked for purposes of determining whether an employee is entitled to overtime compensation. Also, an employer does not have to pay any overtime or other premium rates for holidays (although some choose to do so).

7. Do you have to provide holiday pay for employees on FMLA leave? You have to treat FMLA leaves of absence the same as other non-FMLA leaves. Thus, you only have to pay an employee for holidays during an unpaid FMLA leave if you have a policy of providing holiday pay for employees on other types of unpaid leaves. Similarly, if an employee reduces his or her work schedule for intermittent FMLA leave, you may proportionately reduce any holiday pay (as long as you treat other non-FMLA leaves the same).

8. If an employee takes a day off as a religious accommodation, does it have to be paid? An employer must reasonably accommodate an employee whose sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance conflicts with a work requirement, unless doing so would pose an undue hardship. One example of a reasonable accommodation is unpaid time off for a religious holiday or observance. Another is allowing an employee to use a vacation day for the observance.

Here comes the disclaimer. The laws of your state might be different. If you are considering adopting or changing a holiday pay policy in your organization, or have questions about how your employees are being paid for holidays and other days off, it is wise to consult with counsel.

Sympathy for the Devil (as religious discrimination)

I haven’t always been a lawyer. During a previous life (high school and college), I spent weekends and summers as a bar mitzvah DJ, a nursing home busboy, and a warehouse loading dock guy. At one of those warehouses, I worked with a man by name of Harland Jester. (I provide his name because he named his son “Court,” and this context provides the necessary color for the rest of the story.) Harland was an interesting cat. He believed, for example, that the Freemasons ran the world from a secret office on the 36th floor of Rockefeller Center, and the Lee Iacocca saved Chrysler by making a pact with the devil. This warehouse was full of colorful characters in addition to Harland, many of whom enjoyed a good practical joke. One such joke, played at Harland’s expense, involved a sketch on Harland’s work desk of Mr. Iacocca shaking hands with Satan, with both saying, “Harland, we’re watching you!” Harland did not find the joke nearly as funny as the rest of us, and complained to management. For its part, the company took the path of least resistance, repainting his desk and requiring everyone at attend sensitivity training.

Suzanne Lucas, the Evil HR Lady, shared a story this morning about another employer which could have taken a lesson from my summer job. Billy Hyatt sued Pliant Corp. after it fired him for refusing to wear a sticker with the number 666 (representing the number of consecutive accident-free days) on it. According to the Workplace Prof Blog, Mr. Hyatt’s complaint alleges that he “asked a manager for a religious accommodation on day 666,” and was fired after he refused to work on that day at all.

Sometimes, the path of least resistance makes sense. Is it silly for an employee to refuse to wear “666” on a sticker? Yup. Was the employer within its rights to fire that employee? Maybe. Could the employer have avoided the cost (in legal fees, bad publicity, and a potential settlement or judgment) by simply exempting this employee from the sticker requirement for that one day? Absolutely. Even if this employer was legally in the right in firing this employee—and think about the reasonable accommodation requirements for an employee’s religious beliefs—sometimes it’s just not worth the cost to be right.

Don’t ignore common sense when conducting workplace investigations

Light night, I tuned in with curiosity for Bob Costas’s interview with Jerry Sandusky. That curiosity turned to stunned outrage when Sandusky made the following admission (among others): “I shouldn't have showered with those kids.” Of course, I have outrage as a parent and as a human being. That outrage has existed since this story broke. After last night’s public relations debacle, I also now have outrage as an attorney.

There are many teachable lessons for employers from last night’s primetime drubbing. For example, Sandusky’s lawyers, PR people, and other handlers deserve to be fired for letting their client appear so unprepared and so guilty. I’m also curious about whether Sandusky waived any 5th Amendment rights by making public statements about the crimes with which he has been charged (but I’ll leave that issue for my criminal brethren).

Here’s the employment law takeaway: when you are assessing credibility—for example, during a harassment or other workplace investigation—you do not check your common sense at the door. In fact, common sense serves as your best friend. If you eat meat you are not a vegetarian, and if you shower naked with little boys, you are a pedophile—case closed. To argue any differently borders on the ludicrous. Anyone who watched last night’s interview can only reach the conclusion that Sandusky is guilty of the charges levied against him.

Do not ignore your common sense. “I did not inhale” = I smoked pot. “I have horsed around with kids I have showered after workouts” = I am a pedophile. Keep these examples in the front of your mind during your next workplace investigation.

Tell them to their face: firing employees (a lesson from State College, PA)

Frank Roche, writing at his KnowHR blog, made the following observation the morning after Penn State announced that it had fired Joe Paterno: “Penn State did the right thing.” It’s hard to argue that every university employee whose hands touched the Jerry Sandusky scandal needed to be fired. While I cannot question the decision to fire Joe Paterno, I have a huge problem with how the school communicated the termination to him.

As I watched the PSU board of trustees’s press conference last Wednesday night, I was struck by how John Surma dodged any questions about how the board communicated its decision to Paterno. As he avoided answering those questions, I could only conclude that the board did not tell Paterno to his face that he had been fired. ESPN’s Joe Schad (reporting on Twitter) confirmed my hunch:

Paterno received at his home an envelope from a messenger with a # to call 15 minutes b/f BOT announcement.

When Paterno called he was told "you are relieved of your duties."

Don't get me wrong. I believe Joe Paterno deserved to be fired. What I take issue with was how he was fired. Every employee (let alone one with 62 years of tenure) deserves to learn of a job-loss via a face-to-face conversation. It is never acceptable to fire someone by a phone call, letter, email, text message, Facebook message, tweet, or a this-termination-note-will-self-destruct-in-10-seconds note left at the front door.

There is nothing easy about the communication of a firing. I’ve had to fire people. It’s the worst part of my job. It’s also part of what you sign up for when you assume a management role. But, as uncomfortable as it is to tell someone they are losing a job, it is exponentially more difficult to be on the receiving end of that news. Do the right thing by your employees and provide them the courtesy of delivering the news in person, no matter the circumstances.

Progressive discipline might not be mandatory, but it makes sense

In Fulton v. ODJFS (11/3/11) [pdf], the employee argued that he was entitled to recover unemployment compensation because his employer failed to follow its own progressive discipline policy when terminating him. The court disagreed, noting that the employer’s policy granted discretion to impose any level of disciplinary action—ranging from verbal warning, written warning,
suspension, or immediate termination of employment—depending on the seriousness of the offense.

Reading this, one might conclude that because progressive discipline policies are unnecessary they should be avoided. In fact, the contrary is true. Progressive discipline (with sufficient discretion built in) provides an early warning system to employees. While I have no empirical data to back me up, I would bet that employers who use progressive discipline systems face fewer lawsuits from terminated employees. Those that perceive fair treatment should be less likely to sue than those who perceive that they had the rug pulled out from under them.

Do you know what an employment lawsuit costs?

My manifesto—the Employer’s Bill of Rights—continues to generate links (thanks Kris Dunn and Walter Olson) and comments. One commenter asked the following:

Most employment cases would take less than a week to try? If Defendants simply tried all these frivolous cases instead of spending 18 mos. paying lawyers to do discovery only to settle later wouldn’t these cases dry up?

The reason why businesses fear terminating employees is because wrongful termination lawsuits are so expensive to litigate. According to a recent article at CIO.com (h/t: i-Sight Blog), a company should expect to spend between $50,000 and $250,000 dollars defending a lawsuit brought by an ex-employee. In my experience, that number is pretty accurate.

I believe that every lawsuit should settle. The two key considerations are when and for how much.

The only way to survive as an employer, though, is to draw a reasonable line in the sand on settlement value for a case and stick to it. If you are dead in the water, then you are better off settling early and not spending hundreds of thousands of dollars paying your lawyers to fight a lost cause. At the other extreme, though, if the employee’s case is meritless (or frivolous, depending on your viewpoint), then why do want to spend a dime towards settlement? Settling those cases will only paint your business as an easy mark, spurring copycat claims by other employees. For this latter category of claims, this only settlement is a voluntary dismissal, or, at most, a nuisance value.

The responsibility to fairly value cases, though, falls on both sides of the table. If the employee will not come to your line, then you must litigate, all the way through trial if necessary. Otherwise, you will lose all credibility and your corporate coffers will become an ATM machine for every terminated employee.

Hustling for a lawsuit

Larry Flynt is no stranger to the courtroom. Now, it appears his brother, Jimmy Flynt, isn’t either. Jimmy has filed suit in federal court in Cincinnati, claiming that the family business wrongfully terminated his employment. Flynt v. Flynt Management Group, LLC [pdf] is the latest salvo fired by Jimmy against his brother and former business partner. Earlier this year he lost a different lawsuit that sought to take control of the business. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, this fight started “several years ago when the brothers had a falling out after Larry fired Jimmy’s two sons.”

Lawsuits come from all angles. As this story illustrates, and as is often the case, the stronger the relationship, the nastier the fall-out.

[Hat tip: MattAustinLegal]

Betting on a lawsuit

There have been a lot of bad bets made over time. For example, two years ago I bet on the World Series and, after the Phillies lost, had to painfully write a blog post praising the Yankees. On The Office last week, newly-appointed regional manager Andy Bernard bet his staff a butt tattoo that they couldn’t reach an unheard of sales quota. Perhaps the most famous pop culture example of a bet is Seinfeld’s contest, where the four bet on who would be the “master of their domain.”

Then, there’s this gem, courtesy of the Des Moines Register:

A Bettendorf businessman, branded as the “boss from hell” by some of his employees, offered prizes to workers who could predict which of them would next be fired…. William Ernst, the owner of a Bettendorf-based chain of convenience stores called QC Mart, sent all of his employees a memo in March, outlining a contest in which the workers were encouraged to participate. The memo read: “New Contest – Guess The Next Cashier Who Will Be Fired!!! … To win our game, write on a piece of paper the name of the next cashier you believe will be fired. If the name in your envelope has the right answer, you will win $10 CASH.”

An administrative law judge sided with an ex-employee in her unemployment hearing, writing about the “egregious and deplorable” contest: “The employer’s actions have clearly created a hostile work environment by suggesting its employees turn on each other for a minimal monetary prize…. This was an intolerable and detrimental work environment.”

To be fair, in my career I’ve seen a lot worse work environments. For example, I vividly recall a cake in likeness of a vagina, iced with homophobic epithets, presented to an employee as a challenge to his perceived lack of manliness. Notwithstanding, I’m not sure I’d ever recommend a firing contest as a form of employee motivation.

When you care enough to send the very best ... to the unemployed

Hallmark—the purveyor of greeting cards for occasions such as miscarriages and cancer—has tapped into a new market with a line of cards for the unemployed. Some of the gems include:

• When things are looking kinda gloomy, do as I do. Stare into the heavens, breathe deeply, and say … Give Me a %#!@$!! Break!!!
• It’s hard to know what to say at a sensitive time like this. … How about, “I’m buying!”
• One day, you’ll look back on all this with the wisdom that distance bestows, and you’ll say … “Wow, that sucked.”
• Don’t think of it as losing your job. … Think of it as a time-out between stupid bosses.

According to the Department of Labor, our national unemployment rate is holding steady at 9.1%, representing 14 million people out of work. I’m guessing business is booming for Hallmark.

[Hat tip: Eve Tahmincioglu]

Let employees have their say when disciplining

When you counsel or discipline employees, do you give them a chance to have their say? For example, does your written discipline or performance review forms provide space for employees to explain their side of the story? If your answer is akin to, “It won’t change the outcome, so why bother?” consider Cozzuli v. Sandridge Food Corp. (Ohio Ct. App. 9/26/11) [pdf].

Sandridge Food fired Cozzuli after several years of poor reviews and performance problems. In affirming the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to the employer, the appellate court relied on the fact that “Cozzuli signed his performance review and opted not to write any comments in the ‘Employee Comments’ portion of the paperwork.” The court did not believe it was credible for an employee to use performance critiques, about which he had not taken issue during his employment, as evidence of discrimination afterwards.

In depositions, I always make sure the employee confirm that the employer provided the opportunity to make written comments about discipline, and that they chose not to do so. It is powerful evidence that—as Cozzuli illustrates—can help obtaining a dismissal.

Terminating a poor performer AFTER protected conduct? Read this post.

I’ve written before about the difficulty employers face when terminating an employee for performance problems after that employee engages in some protected activity. Because of the specter of a retaliation claim, employers often feel hamstrung, and seldom take the action necessary to rid themselves of a systemic problem employee. Galeski v. City of Dearborn (6th Cir. 8/16/11) [pdf] provides welcome relief to employers facing this dilemma.

Prior to the City’s termination of Daniel Galeski, he had a seven-year history of well-documented performance problems. Two months prior to his termination, Galeski complained that his male supervisor had been sexually harassing him. In the interim, Galeski’s performance problems continued, for which he received reprimands and written warnings. After he failed to improve, and despite his harassment complaint, the City terminated him.

The court agreed with the employer that Galeski’s long history of performance problems, many of which predated his harassment complaints, were fatal to his retaliation claim:

Galeski has a history of violating the City’s policies and being insubordinate…. [I]t appears that the issues that led to Galeski’s termination were inevitable once a more strict supervisor arrived at the Theater…. [H]is job was in danger regardless of his sexual harassment complaints. In light of his repeated issues with failing to wear his uniform and his reaction to his employer revoking his privilege to use the gym, there is no indication in the record that the City of Dearborn’s legitimate reasons for discharging Galeski were pretextual or otherwise invalid.

The lessons for employers?

1. Don’t wait to terminate. Galeski did not become an insubordinate employee overnight. His performance issues predated his termination by 7 years. Yet, a history of weak and non-confrontational supervisors refused to do anything about it. I’m not saying that you should fire an employee at the first sign of trouble, but there is a line between a fair warning and years of capitulation. The former will put you in good stead defending a lawsuit. The latter could result in a judge or a jury asking why you waited so long and looking for an illegitimate reason for the late-in-the-game termination. Just because this scenario worked out for the City of Dearborn does not mean that it will work out well for every employer in every case.

2. Document, document, document. There are few terminations that can survive scrutiny without proper documentation. Your odds as an employer go down exponentially if you pair a lack of documentation with a termination on the heels of protected activity. As the Galeski case illustrates, a poor performer is a poor performer, regardless of complaints about harassment or other protected conduct. Without a legitimate paper trail, however, you will find yourself without the ammunition to do anything about it.

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Written by Jon Hyman, a partner in the Labor & Employment group of Kohrman Jackson & Krantz. For more information, contact Jon at (216) 736-7226 or jth@kjk.com.

A tale of two transgressions, or; How Jim Tressel learned to start lying and lose his job

Employers forgive lots of employee transgressions. I routinely counsel clients that the decision between whether to discipline or terminate an employee often comes down to how valuable the employee is to the organization. The more talented an employee, the more likely an employer will be to forgive even a serious misstep (at least the first time). One sin, above all others, however, should rarely be overlooked—dishonesty.

Consider the following two examples.

On Sunday night I watched a rerun of Undercover Boss. The episode focused on the Chief Development Officer of Subway, a recovering alcoholic who, decades earlier, passed out at work in an alcohol-induced stupor. Instead of firing him, the company gave him a second chance. In the years since, he rose to become one of the company’s key executives.

Compare that story to the weekend’s big news story in Ohio—Jim Tressel’s resignation. He did not leave Ohio State in a cloud of disgrace because his players traded memorabilia for tattoos. Instead, his lies caused his downfall. Trust is the core of any relationship—including that between a boss and employee. Once that trust is eroded, the relationship is unsalvageable. All of the good Tressel did for Ohio State disappeared when he lied to his boss about what he knew and when he knew it.

I'll leave you, my readers, with a question. Can you think of any situation in which you’ve forgiven an employee you caught in a lie? I’d love to hear your thoughts, either via the comments below, my twitter, or my Facebook Page.

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Presented by Kohrman Jackson & Krantz, with offices in Cleveland and Columbus. For more information, contact Jon Hyman, a partner in our Labor & Employment group, at (216) 736-7226 or jth@kjk.com.

How do other cultures handle HR?

Monsters, Inc., holds a special place in my heart. It was the first movie my wife and I saw together. As an employment lawyer, then, the following sign at the Mike & Sully meet and greet at Disney’s Hollywood Studios struck exactly the right note.

Interestingly, the last bullet point shows that even Monstropolis sees the importance of covering social media in workplace policies. I’m not sure when Disney crafted this sign, but I wonder if it’s one of the earliest examples of a social media policy.

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Presented by Kohrman Jackson & Krantz, with offices in Cleveland and Columbus. For more information, contact Jon Hyman, a partner in our Labor & Employment group, at (216) 736-7226 or jth@kjk.com.

What does St. Patrick have to do with human resources?

Legend tells us that in the 5th century, St. Patrick banished all snakes from Ireland. In honor of the day that celebrates Ireland’s patron saint, consider banishing the following metaphorical snakes from your HR practices:

• Illegal questions on employment applications, such as age, medical conditions, or workers compensation histories.
• Irregularities in pre-hiring procedures, such as unlawful background checks, medical inquiries, and medical exams.
• Overly broad policies in employee handbooks, such as anti-union no-solicitation policies or policies that ban discussions of wages and other workplace terms and conditions.
• FMLA policies that do not comply with the law’s recent regulatory changes.
• Absent technology and social media policies.
• Harassment training done less frequently than ever other year.
• Misclassified employees (non-exempt as exempt, and employees as independent contractors).
• Managers and supervisors that have not been trained in the handling, discipline, and documentation of problem employees?
• Missing EEO, DOL, and other mandatory employment law postings.
• Key employees that are not locked down with appropriate confidentiality, no-solicitation, and/or non-competition agreements.

While there may never have been snakes in Ireland, we at least know that they haven’t bothered anyone on the Emerald Isle since the time of St. Patrick. Do yourself a favor by ensuring that these employment law snakes do not bother your business again.

When two worlds collide ... hilarity ensues

Last night, the self-proclaimed world's greatest bosses met for the first time. Michael Scott, meet David Brent:

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Presented by Kohrman Jackson & Krantz, with offices in Cleveland and Columbus. For more information, contact Jon Hyman, a partner in our Labor & Employment group, at (216) 736-7226 or jth@kjk.com.