by Gary S. Fealk
Discipline and termination are issues for virtually all employers. However, many employers make employment decisions with incomplete knowledge of the events leading to the discipline or termination. Having a system for investigating and documenting workplace incidents helps employers make decisions with better knowledge of the facts. Proper documentation also reduces the risk [...]

by Reggie Gay
Q: We have a job applicant who worked for us approximately six years ago. There’s nothing negative in her file, but there were some issues with her job performance. Neither of her former supervisors wants to hire her back. She has applied several times and has received rejection letters, but she keeps reapplying. [...]

Should our company use job descriptions? How long should they be, and what information should they contain? Do they really serve a useful purpose?
We get those questions all the time, and the answer is always the same: Yes, employers should use lean, practical job descriptions that accurately reflect essential job duties because they serve an [...]

The worst-case scenario for any claim involving an employment-related decision is the “smoking gun” piece of evidence that destroys the case. It could be a notation in an interviewer’s notes that the applicant was “old” or a supervisor’s note indicating that the recently terminated employee “complained about safety issues a lot.” Because you generally have [...]

Almost every employer has policies. The question is, where do they come from? They come from HR, right? But where does HR get them? They must get them from somewhere. And what if you don’t have an HR department? Then someone must have to — gasp — write them. We’re talking about your employment policies [...]

Most employers understand that they should discourage the use of subjective criteria to make hiring, advancement, and severance decisions. However, many supervisors still insist that they must consider subjective criteria because factors like “attitude,” “initiative,” and “reliability” simply can’t be made objective. True or false? Let’s break it down.
Every employee undoubtedly has certain tasks that [...]

by Joseph C. Pettygrove
Employers are increasingly looking at the feasibility of scanning hard copies of various types of employment documents and retaining only the electronic copies in the routine course of business. Generally speaking, you are allowed to do that if you ensure that your electronic record maintenance systems are secure, accurate, reliable, and accessible [...]

by Paul Ross
As veterans of employment litigation can tell you, employment discrimination claims are rarely supported by direct evidence of discriminatory decision making. In the overwhelming majority of cases, employees support their entire case with circumstantial evidence.

In today’s world of corporate belt-tightening and budget cutbacks, you might find yourself wondering whether the expense of an HR staff is actually justified by the benefits. After all, HR doesn’t create revenue for the company — it doesn’t operate the machinery that produces the widgets, and it doesn’t drive sales.
In fact, the perception might [...]

Imagine for a moment the employee who seems just a little off — having disproportionate negative reactions to criticism, having strange obsessions with weapons or death, being unusually hot-tempered, demanding, or controlling, or having other odd or erratic behaviors.
Now imagine that despite the employee’s peculiarity, he’s an above-average worker and his job performance is otherwise [...]