Law Office Manager

Termination

3 proven ways to make firing easier on everyone

1 Do it Friday afternoon While some human resources experts say firing is best done in the middle of the week, most recommend doing it on Friday afternoon. That time is best for the office, because it lessens the possibility that the person will set up a support group in the hours immediately following. It also eliminates the possibility that the person will stay around and … [Read more...] about 3 proven ways to make firing easier on everyone

How to protect your practice against costly FLSA and EEOC claims

Do an HR audit at the start of each year Today's protection against tomorrow's employment law claims is a human resources audit. An audit is essential to keep the firm's employment processes accurate and current – and also followed, says Joseph Godwin, human resources consultant for F&H Solutions Group in Ashville, NC. The audit needs to be done every year, because with … [Read more...] about How to protect your practice against costly FLSA and EEOC claims

Model Tool: Privacy Risk Assessment

Why you need this assessment: Information collected about individual job applicants is considered personal information subject to privacy laws, regardless of whether the information is publicly available. You need to consider these privacy risks you face before using social media sites like Facebook to gather personal information about job applicants. How this assessment helps … [Read more...] about Model Tool: Privacy Risk Assessment

Model Tool: Pre-Employment Screening Notification

Why you need this notification: Collecting information about job applicants from social media websites like Facebook can get you into legal hot water. That's because the information you collect may be considered protected, personal information to the extent applicants can show they had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the material. How this notification helps you: It's … [Read more...] about Model Tool: Pre-Employment Screening Notification

Model Policy: Progressive discipline and employee termination

Why you need this policy: There's no point in having any policies, procedures, and standards unless you're prepared to discipline employees who disobey them. The problem is that discipline is not only unpleasant but likely to result in some form of legal grievance, especially if the employee belongs to a union. That means you'll end up having to defend your action before an … [Read more...] about Model Policy: Progressive discipline and employee termination

HR law and employee social networking

Can you discipline employees for social networking offenses? Answer: It depends. Explanation: Frittering away time, disclosing patient records, bad mouthing the practice and other offenses are grounds for discipline when they occur "off line." So why should it make a difference if employees do these things online while social networking? In theory, it shouldn't. The … [Read more...] about HR law and employee social networking

Beware Lilly Ledbetter; it extends the time limit for unfair pay claims

A relatively new law that all but eliminates the statute of limitations on equal pay lawsuits for women brings yet more employment law concerns administrators need to be aware of. It’s the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Employers can expect an upswing in claims that their female employees are underpaid, says Denise Murphy, an employment law attorney with Rubin and Rudman in … [Read more...] about Beware Lilly Ledbetter; it extends the time limit for unfair pay claims