Remember when you were a kid and you asked a grown-up for something? Remember when that grown-up, trying to teach you manners, asked you, “What’s the magic word?”– and you hopefully said, “Please”? How does that work in the workplace though? I mean, yes, it’s certainly the right thing for employees making requests to say […]
Does An Employee’s Disclosure of Depression Equal an FMLA Request? Sometimes…
What happens when your previously top-performing employee starts having attendance issues? Sounds like a no-brainer, no? You talk to the employee and document the verbal counseling. If it continues you might progress to a write-up. What happens when s/he tells you s/he has been diagnosed with depression, and is adjusting to medications? Your first thought […]
The ADA Might Require Time Off to Care For a Disabled Family Member…
What do you do when your employee asks permission to leave work early for a week to care for her disabled son? Do you grant it? Do you reject it out of hand? Hopefully you ask a few more questions and see what you can do to address the situation at hand. What if you […]
Can You Make Your Employees Get Flu Shots?
Flu season is coming. If you work for a health care institution or organization that could be of particular concern. Mandatory vaccination programs are very common in the healthcare industry. Is it legal? Usually, yes. Some states might even require you to offer the vaccine. But even a mandatory flu shot (or other vaccination) may […]
Employees Have a Right NOT to Pray
We live in a country that affords us many individual freedoms, among them the right to observe the religion of our choice (subject to some reasonable limits). When a job requirement interferes with a sincerely held religious belief an employer must at least try to provide a reasonable accommodation. Generally speaking, employers must not discriminate […]