November 2 is just two weeks away. The mid-term elections are almost here. It’s predicted that there will be a lot of new faces in Congress next year. Remember, it was generally believed that the 2008 elections would usher in all kinds of new labor and employment laws. That hasn’t happened. It’s generally believed that the results of the mid-term elections will mean very little activity on the labor and employment front. It will be interesting to see if we are as wrong about the mid-term elections as we were about the 2008 elections.

(more…)

I’ve done a video training series with the help of M. Lee Smith Publishers called “Super Supervisors.” When this series was done, no one had heard of Luis Urzua, the shift foreman of the Chilean miners who were trapped a half mile under ground for more than two months. We’ve heard of him now, and he is a “super supervisor.” He wasn’t perfect, but having been selected as a shift foreman, Urzua was considered to be the best of the best. As it turned out, he was.

(more…)

On the same day that there was riveting, excruciating testimony at the hearing in Texas on the Fort Hood massacre, a miracle was occurring in Chile. On November 4, 2009, at the safest military facility in the U.S., an army psychiatrist went on a shooting rampage, killing 13 and wounding 30. His trial is underway, and eye witnesses are giving wrenching accounts of what happened at his hands. On August 5, 2010, a mine in San Jose, Chile, collapsed, trapping 33 miners. Based on other mining disasters, a lot of people expressed hope, but few expected all — all — of the miners to be rescued.

(more…)

Having grown up in a small town in middle Tennessee, I wasn’t exposed much to ballet. I can’t remember seeing a ballet, except perhaps on television, until after I was married. Unlike the theatre, to which I also wasn’t exposed much as a boy, I didn’t appreciate ballet for a long time. Men and women jumping around in outfits that would be banned anywhere else. I’m afraid I didn’t get it.

(more…)

Turf is common in all businesses, although its existence makes for an ineffective way to run a business. It also makes it easier for employees to say, “That’s not my job.” Teamwork — everyone working together for a common purpose– is a core value of every employer. Everybody wins. It’s a nice theory, but in reality, it’s a fiction. Both inside and outside the workplace, people seem less willing to help each other — just for the sake of helping.

(more…)

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act, alcoholism is a disability. However, an alcoholic can be held to the same standards as other workers. He can be disciplined and even terminated if alcoholism interferes with work. Also, if an alcoholic employee comes to work while drinking or drunk, he can be fired.

(more…)

I think it’s pretty clear that layoffs are going to continue and that our unemployment situation isn’t going to turn around anytime soon. In all likelihood, you will fire an employee, maybe several of the them, between now and the end of the year and on into next year. Things have changed a lot since the layoff craze began. Millions of people are sitting on edge every day. I’ve written as much as I can about why this should have never happened. As it continues, however, remember how stressed employees already are and how difficult being fired is, particularly in this economy. Instead of an email, memo, voicemail or some other impersonal contact, meet face-to-face with employees losing their jobs. You will need to give them something in writing. You can do that when you meet with them or give it to them later. Show them a little respect when they are on the verge of hearing what they’ve feared for months.

When the 2008 elections were approaching, I surveyed the laws in all 50 states concerning the voting rights of employees. With the mid-term elections a little more than three weeks away, it’s time for another review this subject. I know that some of you have been recently accessing the post I did back in 2008. The state laws remain basically the same, although there are a few changes. The purpose of this post is to make sure that you are up-to-speed on these laws in the state or states where you have facilities or employees.

(more…)

Rick Sanchez, a CNN daytime anchor, was fired last week for going off on Jon Stewart and people like him. He did this in a radio interview. Jon Stewart came up because Stewart has repeatedly mocked Sanchez on The Daily Show. As Sanchez continued to talk, it became obvious that “the people like Stewart” were Jews. I’m not sure Sanchez said anything that was really anti-Semitic, but he did take a shot or two at Jews during the interview.

(more…)

All HR professionals know that a harassment claim must be investigated promptly and then appropriate action taken. In Moody v. East Mississippi State Hospital, decided by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, an employee’s suit was dismissed, in part, for exactly that reason.

(more…)

In the executive ranks, it’s common for a new CEO or other executive to bring in people he or she knows well. They’ve worked together before. A relationship of trust has already been established. Sometimes, a new CEO will bring a whole new team with him or her — a team he or she knows. But this doesn’t happen only in the executive ranks. All kinds of managers and supervisors and HR professionals are likely to do the same thing if the opportunity presents itself.

(more…)

I did a post on May 27, 2010, about increasing suicides in the workplace. The workplace in question was located in China. The conditions under which employees worked resembled a prison more than a workplace. Those conditions were blamed for the suicide spike. Now we’re told that returning American soldiers to Fort Hood in Texas are committing suicide at an alarming rate. (Here and here.) The conditions under which these soldiers have worked in Iraq and Afghanistan during the past several years make the Chinese situation pale by comparison.

(more…)

That’s an exaggeration. However, a recent incident involving a Rutgers University student demonstrates where social media and the Internet are taking us. College pranks at the beginning of the school year are common, particularly when freshmen are involved. These pranks have sometimes gone overboard, but with the Internet, a prank or an act of revenge can ravage  the  target.

(more…)

The Family and Medical Leave Act raises legal issues that aren’t easy to address or are misunderstood. Consider the case of Harvey v. Waste Management of Illinois, No. 1:08-cv-06828, N.D. Ill. An employee had 11 points for unexcused absences. One more, and termination would occur. When he arrived at work on the day in question, he reported to two supervisor that he was sick. One of the supervisors noticed the employee was visibly ill and had trouble standing. It was decided that the employee should go home. The employee’s absence that day was considered unexcused, giving him 12 points. He was terminated.

(more…)

Most of us were taught not to cheat when we were growing up. Not in school. Not at work. Not anywhere. But when one grows up and sees that cheating makes people rich, allows them to climb the corporate ladder, gives them the edge in a deal, or flat out allows them to dupe their friends, an important question arises. Is cheating really the rule rather than the exception?

(more…)

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Muslim employees filed a record 803 religious discrimination charges for the year ended September 30, 2009. That’s up 20% over the year before. That exceeds the number of charges filed in the year after 9/11. There’s little doubt that these charges will set another record for the year ending September 30, 2010. The EEOC has taken this spike in Muslim-related religious discrimination charges seriously, filing several lawsuits on behalf of Muslim workers.

(more…)

Last week, I called out the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for its failure to seriously consider whether the National Football League is violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Based on a recent article in the Washington Post, no one should hold his breath until OSHA investigates the NFL. The agency is way behind with other duties it’s supposed to perform.

(more…)

I just returned from a wedding. One of our kids is getting married soon. So, vows have been on my mind lately. When an employee comes to work, there are rules and policies about what an employee will do and what an employer will do. Neither view them as vows, however. In a marriage, of course, vows can be words only. But they do make you think about an intended commitment.

(more…)

When it was announced this week that the chairman of the Vatican Bank was under investigation for money laundering, the Vatican said it was “perplexed and astonished.” The Vatican also expressed “maximum confidence” in the chairman. Sound familiar? The Vatican was astonished when the child sex abuse scandal first broke. The Vatican expressed confidence that Catholic priests would never engage in such outrageous conduct.

(more…)

An Ohio teacher is one of the latest employees to lose a job because of Facebook. It’s difficult to feel sorry for him. He should have known better. Apparently, like many other dupes, the teacher thought he was protected by some invisible shield and that he could get away with what everyone else couldn’t. He won’t be the last, no matter how much is written about the social media trap and no matter how well social media policies are written by employers.

(more…)