Tag: workplace investigation

Ask The Expert: Pitfalls of a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)

In our latest installment of Ask the Expert, brought to you by the team of industry experts at HR Hero®, we look at a recent question from a subscriber regarding performance improvement plans (PIPs), the challenge of perceived retaliation, and the importance of building a clearly defined employee policies. Q: We have an employee who is on […]

Workplace Investigations: Remove Bias and Ignore Your Gut

As an HR manager, you’ve almost certainly had to do a workplace investigation. Employee A makes a complaint, saying that employee B did such and such. You talk to employee B, and he or she says that no such thing happened or it happened very differently. How do you measure who is credible and who […]

Courts Uphold Dismissal of Fired NFL Coach’s Defamation Claims

You may remember that Jonathan Martin, a former starting offensive tackle for the Miami Dolphins, suddenly left the team during the 2013 season. He was a second-round draft pick in 2012 who played college football at Stanford. In college, he was twice selected as an All-American offensive lineman. During the 2012 season, he played at […]

Safety incidents: the right to remain silent versus the obligation to speak

by Deanah Shelly What if this happens at your Canadian facility: One of your employees witnesses a workplace incident. Soon, enforcement officers are on-site investigating the incident. They may be police officers, health and safety inspectors, or environmental officers. One of the investigating officers asks the employee to assist and provide a witness statement. What […]

What do you do now? The boss is the problem!

by Jo Ellen Whitney Being a business owner, supervisor, or boss doesn’t make you immune to bad behavior. Business owners, CEOs, and upper-level managers have been known to be bullies, behave badly, harass employees, and have affairs. There are certainly plenty of recent examples in the media. You can rarely open a popular magazine without […]

Investigations by lawyers: Privileged, or not privileged, that is the question

by Monique Orieux In Canada, an employer may retain a lawyer to conduct a workplace investigation, particularly where the issue under investigation is of a sensitive nature. One reason for doing so is to attempt to keep the investigator’s notes, supporting documents, and final report from being disclosed to a third party as privileged. However, […]

Relying on Luck to Avoid Employee Legal Claims Is Dangerous and Expensive

Here’s a case that will probably make employers feel great about their own compliance efforts. You know who you are: You train your new hires on all company policies, you have sparkling and oft-reviewed nondiscrimination, nonharassment, and nonretaliation policies, you conduct supervisory training early and often, and your folks know how to recognize potentially harassing […]

Employer May Terminate Employee Who Misrepresented Need for FMLA Leave

The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee) recently addressed whether an employer could terminate an employee who met the requirements for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave but, by virtue of his behavior during the leave, revealed that he actually was able to work.

Male-Male Sexual Harassment Claims on the Rise

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment charges by men have doubled since 1992, accounting for 16 percent of the 12,696 sexual harassment charges filed in the 2009 fiscal year. And while female-male sexual harassment certainly makes up some portion of those claims, it’s evident that male-male harassment claims are also on […]

How Employers Can Avoid Becoming an EEOC Statistic: Part 2

by Amy M. McLaughlin In part one of this article, we discussed the increase in the number of discrimination charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against private-sector employers since 2006. In 2006, the EEOC saw it’s first increase in charge filings in four years. By 2008, the number of discrimination claims filed […]