From Guest Editor Leigh Polk Cole
Another change for business travelers
Just as your employees who travel frequently on business are beginning to figure out what they can and can't carry on airplanes after major changes last week prompted by a thwarted terror plot in Britain, another major change has just begun.
The United States also is starting to issue electronic passports or “e-Passports”, which include a digital photograph and a computer chip so that the information in the passport can’t be physically altered and can be verified electronically by U.S. border officials.
The first electronic U.S. passports were issued this week and all U.S. passports issued from now on will have electronic features. Older U.S. passports remain valid until they expire.
To enhance homeland security, the U.S. government is phasing in the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). Under the program, citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda entering the United States by air or most seaports, must present a valid passport (or in some cases a NEXUS or border crossing card for citizens of Canada and Mexico) starting Dec. 31, 2006.
For business travelers, the primary concern is that it will be a nuisance to carry a passport for all travel into the United States. Also, impromptu travel won't be possible unless the traveler already holds a passport.
Advance planning is required to make sure that employees who need to travel are aware of the new requirements for North American travelers and obtain a passport beforehand. Gone are the days when you could send an employee on a trip to Canada with only a birth certificate and photo identification. Now, trips that involve an entry or return to the United States require months of advance planning for any employee who doesn't hold a passport.
Cross-border companies need to pay particular attention to these requirements. Companies with operations on both sides of the U.S. border often send staff back and forth between offices or plants inside and outside the United States for routine business meetings.
You should start planning now for the new passport requirements. A good first step is to share the new requirements and the anticipated availability of e-passports with all employees, particularly employees who travel for your company. You should consider urging employees to apply for a passport or renew their passport soon to avoid any delay in business or personal travel when the WHTI takes effect.
Click here for Leigh's full article on the new passport requirements.
Leigh is a director at Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew PC. She serves as general counsel and advisor to businesses as they navigate legal issues in diverse industries including matters relating to business formation, mergers and acquisitions, financing, commercial transactions, and immigration.
This Week's Feature
Watch your mouth in the workplace
Excerpted from Tennessee Employment Law Letter, written by attorneys at the law firm Miller and Martin
Are you in compliance with the federal Anti-Cursing and Profanity in the Workplace Act? OK, before you call your lawyer asking why she hasn’t told you about this federal law, there’s no such beast. But is cursing or profanity something that you should have on your radar?
You bet it is. Why?
Nonlegal reasons. Depending on the kind of business you have, cursing just may be downright unprofessional. Does it really help your business if your customers, clients, and the general public are subjected to widespread cursing in your workplace?
Even in a society that’s grown more receptive to vulgarity, most of us would be taken aback if we walked into an office and were greeted by a receptionist with “How the hell can I help you?” or “Would you like to have a damn seat in our waiting area?”
Of course, many employees would just as soon not work in that kind of environment. Moreover, it’s probably not going too far to say that a supervisor, manager, or executive with a foul mouth is an intimidator rather than an inspirer. End result? Not a good place to work. Lots of conflict. Lack of respect. And all of that can lead to legal problems.
Legal reasons. More often than not, any discrimination claim includes a complaint about language. The allegedly offensive language may take the form of a sexual, racial, or ethnic slur, but it also may involve something that falls into the category of pure cursing.
The same is true of harassment claims. Offensive language is complained about, and it almost always involves profanity. And some cursing involves words that actually will help to prove the underlying harassment claim.
For example, if you use the word “bitch” in connection with a female employee, most of us would say that’s not only a curse word but a word connoting a derogatory or harassing attitude toward women.
Similarly, the use of the f-word in describing the kind of relationship you’d like to have with an employee would involve profanity and proof of harassment.
Some employees may find the profanity to be offensive to their religious sensibilities. If you permit it to continue after an employee complains on that basis, you may have the makings of a religious discrimination or harassment claim.
Perhaps the most serious legal problem is workplace violence. Some workplace fights have probably been started without the use of profanity — but not many. Some deaths as a result of workplace violence have probably occurred without a curse word being uttered — but not many.
Cursing often involves hostility, which frequently leads to an employer’s worst nightmare: workplace violence.
Dadgummit, here’s what you can do
Should you have a policy on cursing? There’s certainly no legal requirement to have one. It may not even be a good idea. We already have plenty of policies that are difficult to interpret and enforce consistently.
It’s not unusual, however, to have a policy dealing with workplace respect. If an employee is “cussing out” a coworker, that’s not respect.
Also, for the legal reasons discussed above, it’s certainly appropriate for you to tell a profane employee to cut it out, even without a policy specifically addressing the subject. If he can’t control his profanity, discipline and then termination would be appropriate.
If you think cursing is out of control in your company, maybe it’s time to do some training. Some employers are beginning to do that. You start with a simple discussion of the problem — why it’s not good and the legal and nonlegal reasons for curtailing it.
And maybe you offer a few suggestions to help the extreme cursers, like substituting the following “oldies but goodies” for the curse words: Nuts! Blast it! Fudge! Fiddlesticks! Dadgummit! Darn it! Doggone it! Shucks!
Then you pretty much lay down the law: “We’re not going to put up with real cursing anymore.”
And here’s one final bit of legal advice: Bite your tongue.
Copyright © M. Lee Smith Publishers LLC. This article is an excerpt from TENNESSEE EMPLOYMENT LAW LETTER. Tennessee Employment Law Letter does not attempt to offer solutions to individual problems but to provide information about current developments in Tennessee employment law. Questions about individual problems should be addressed to the attorney of your choice.
This Week on HRhero.com
Employers in the Courtroom
Company sued for using fired employee's name
From Ohio Employment Law Letter
Most employers understand their legal obligation to avoid defaming former employees. One recent case that added a new twist involved an employer that inadvertently continued to send out customer mailings under the signature of a fired salesperson.
The employee claimed that the company had misappropriated his name and, despite the absence of any actual damages, was permitted to take his case to trial.
Employers Forum
Outplacement firms
Due to some technology advances it is likely that we are going to have to lay off a large number of employees. Since our entire industry is undergoing these same changes it is unlikely that our employees will find jobs with our competitors.
We are in the financial industry and most of our employees are low- to mid-level clerical staff. We would like to help them transition out of the industry and are looking for an outplacement firm to help them. many of the companies that I saw on the web specialize in executives only. Does anyone know of a firm that they can recommend? Any advice on what services are most helpful?
Leah4, IL
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HR Q&A
Timing triggers retaliation issues
From Nebraska Employment Law Letter
Q: We have a number of developing problems with an employee who is in two protected categories (race and age). He is over the age of 40 and black and has a very pronounced dislike for Hispanics, which make up a significant portion of our workforce.
The employee also has developed a problem of not showing up or calling in on Mondays. We've also received reports from a delivery driver that our employee has offered to sell our product on the side for cash. Given those and a number of other issues and problems we've determined that he must be fired.
He's apparently aware that he's about to be fired, given certain comments that have been passed along to us. Just before we were prepared to carry out the discharge, we learned that he had filed an equal pay and race discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Can we go forward with our decision to fire him? And if we do meet with him to carry out the discharge, what should we do if he brings up the issue of his pending complaint or allegations of unlawful retaliation?
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