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 [...]

Who knows? In 20 years, there might be a robot writing these articles; we’ve faced that reality. Eventually, we may all be phased out by machines, programs, and metallic entities, the likes of which we’ve yet to even imagine.
As the world has become more automated and efficient, we have all witnessed downsizing and have subconsciously [...]

by Boyd A. Byers
The thirst for revenge is among the strongest of human emotions. In fact, the innate desire to “get even” has driven much of history. But acting on vindictive feelings can have dire consequences — particularly in the world of employment law.

On May 31, the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision awarding $923,656 in back pay to a terminated employee of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), an agency of the U.S. government. The decision shows the damages available to employees that prove retaliation based on the filing of an Equal Employment [...]

by Sylmarie Arizmendi of Arizmendi & Sanfilippo
Often U.S. employers doing business in Puerto Rico assume that certain basic elements of the employment relationship are the same in Puerto Rico as they are stateside. That leads employers to expose themselves to liability because of differences in the employment laws. This article highlights four essential differences for [...]

by Mark I. Schickman
Across America, California employment laws are considered very liberal, too far left. But, in England, the employment law of every American state is viewed as only a cut above indentured servitude. Their legal establishment is disdainful of America’s “regressive” employment laws, and many tribunals will simply refuse to enforce our “barbaric” at-will [...]

HR professionals are frequently asked to do more with less. Moreover, these are challenging times, with companies facing increased employment litigation but having fewer resources for programs to strengthen the quality and longevity of the workforce. Exit interviews represent an effective and inexpensive, albeit little-used, tool for spotting and fixing problems before they turn into [...]

by Amy M. McLaughlin
A recent decision from the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reiterates an employer’s obligation to ensure that its decisionmakers act without discriminatory or retaliatory animus. The employer in the following case allowed a decisionmaker whom it knew harbored racial animus to fire a black worker for poor performance. That move cost [...]

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 [...]