Woody Allen is credited with saying that 80% of success is showing up. That could certainly apply to the workplace. To be fair though, he made that comment in 1977 before remote work, telecommuting, video conferencing and similar technological advances were in existence. It’s clear that some jobs do not require physical presence on the […]
Can You Demote an Employee Over a Child’s Diagnosis?
Suppose your employee tells you that his/her child has a severe neurological impairment that may occasionally require leaving work early to care for the child. Suppose the employee is still able to perform his/her job. Would you demote the employee based on the child’s diagnosis? What if you’re concerned that your employee won’t be as […]
Yikes!!! Sometimes HR Pros and Managers Can Be Personally Liable for Violations!!!
Individual managers, officers, HR pros and the like can be held personally liable for certain employment law violations. How can that be? The company is the employer, not the manager. Don’t most of the relevant laws say so? Some of them do.
Is Vacationing While on FMLA Leave Grounds For Termination? Maybe (Not)…
Employee leave abuse has gotten a lot of attention. The most common example is the employee who requests and gets approval for FMLA leave and the employer learns that s/he is really on a trip. That’s not surprising. You’re probably thinking, ” Isn’t that a no-brainer?”. The answer really depends on the specific facts. What happens if an employee requests leave to receive and recover from surgery and s/he spends part of that recovery period on vacation?
Leave Me Alone: Can You Contact (or Fire) Employees on FMLA Leave?
An employee goes out on FMLA leave. While the employee is on leave, the employer contacts her. Six days before the anticipated end of that leave the employer fires the employee. The employee sues, alleging FMLA interference. Who wins? In this case, the employer did. Let’s delve into some of the details to learn why […]