by Craig M. Borowski
Employment-related claims remain at near all-time high levels, and most employers face them from time to time. Many attorneys would agree they have a “wish list” of things they would like to receive with their next employment lawsuit to help them successfully defend the case. Unfortunately, to the detriment of an [...]

by Julie A. Arbore
One of the most effective ways an employer can shield itself from liability when faced with an allegation of discrimination is to be able to support the legitimacy of the challenged employment decision with documentation. While this advice may sound simple and obvious, all too often an employee’s [...]

Employers may be experiencing the nagging dread of age discrimination more frequently these days. Simultaneous to the surge of baby boomers reaching retirement age comes the decision by many to delay their exit from the workforce, setting up a perfect legal storm centered on age discrimination.
Employees who saw their retirement nest eggs dwindle during the [...]

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 [...]