How to Avoid EEOC Problems

Develop and implement clear consistent policies and procedures. Policies should be created to support your company goals and create order in the workplace.

• Policies cannot cause any type of adverse impact on any protected minority group.
• Policies and procedures should always be based on legitimate business needs/objectives.

All employees must be made aware of the policies and sign a receipt and acknowledgement to keep in their personnel file. Policy enforcement must be consistent without making any exceptions. Failure to maintain consistency will increase your chances for losing a lawsuit.

Documentation is an employers best friend. It's your best resource and item of defense as an employer so take advantage and take time to document. Make sure to have notes of verbal warnings and maintain formal written documentation on disciplinary actions administered ensuring both the employer and employee have signed the forms. If an employee refuses to sign make sure to have a witness sign witnessing fact that employee refused.

Make sure that all terminations are justified and that employees have been treated fairly relative to others in the past. Also, if you have a problematic employee make sure to terminate them as soon as possible. Don't tolerate poor employee behavior and/or attitudes.

Remember that all employers are, for all practical purposes, guilty until they have proven themselves innocent. In order to prove your innocence, you must have written documentation.

How You Can Avoid Lawsuits

As an employer you have a responsibility to ensure that complaints are taken seriously, investigated timely and thoroughly, appropriate parties are disciplined based on factsand that documentation is maintained and secured for your records.

Priority #1: Be Responsive to All Complaints

• Never brush a complaint off
• Always remain neutral
• Keep an open mind and consider that the claim may be true
• Act immediately, same day or no later than next day if you have a good reason
• Gather statements from all parties with signatures and dates

Priority #2: Document and Keep Evidence Secure

• File all notes about complaints and meetings in a separate claim file
• Pull and file records, evidence and/or video of mistakes and/or behavior

Priority #3: Enforce Discipline

• Discipline appropriate parties who were confirmed to violate policy through fact finding
• Discipline any manager who was witness to incident who failed to address issue immediately

Keep in mind that there are always three sides to any story or complaint and your job is to get down to the facts of what has happened. It's not to say he or she was right but what has actually transpired based on what you can confirm. Make sure to advise all parties on what they did right and what they should've done differently. 

How to Minimize the Impact of Flu Season on Your Workplace

There's a lot you can do to prevent flu from invading your workplace, making your employees sick, increasing the risk of accidents, and creating havoc with work schedules. Here are some recommendations from Flu.gov.

• Promote vaccination. Encourage all employees to get vaccinated for seasonal flu. Make sure your employees know where they and their family can get seasonal flu vaccination in the community. Find out about health providers, pharmacies or clinics that offer seasonal flu vaccinations in your community. Partner with a pharmacy or provider to get your employees vaccinated. Or, if possible, offer seasonal flu vaccination opportunities right at your workplace.
• Educate employees to recognize the symptoms of flu.  Symptoms of flu include fever or chills and cough or sore throat. In addition, symptoms of flu can include runny nose, body aches, headache, tiredness, diarrhea, or vomiting. Workers who have flu-like symptoms should be asked to go home. Continue to advise workers to check for any signs of illness before coming to work each day.   
• Encourage hand cleanliness by providing education and reminders about the importance of frequent hand washing. Make sure all employees have easy access to running water and soap or alcohol-based hand cleaners.
• Encourage "respiratory etiquette" by providing education and reminders about covering coughs and sneezes with tissues, and easy access to tissues and trash cans.
• Promote routine cleaning of surfaces and items that are more likely to have frequent hand contact. Provide employees with cleaning agents.
• Prepare for employees to stay home from work and extend the time sick employees stay home to at least 7 days. People who are still sick after 7 days should continue to stay home until at least 24 hours after symptoms have gone away, even if they feel better sooner. Employees may stay home because they are sick, are at higher risk for complications, need to care for sick household members, or because schools have been dismissed or childcare centers have closed and they need to care for their children. Review sick-leave policies and consider making them flexible and consistent with public health recommendations.

Safety Daily Advisor

Don't Do This!!

You hear and read about how important documentation is but what you don't hear is what not to do when you're documenting or speaking to an employee. 

It's very important to follow these basic tips:

1. Be direct and concise about what the employee did and when they did it.
2. Document verbal discussions and warnings you had with the employee.
3. Document the discussed expectations and follow up plans for correction.
4. Remove emotion, sarcasm, the use of "you" and keep a neutral tone in written and verbal form.
5. Focus on facts and do not exaggerate the situation with unnecessary details. 

Examples of what not to do in either written or verbal form:
"Amy just isn't pulling her weight which is causing co-workers to take on extra work."

• Instead: Amy has failed to produce and send ABC reports each Thursday to the accounting department for the last 3 weeks. Because these reports have not been sent, the accounting department must redo their XYZ reports to add missing data never sent by Amy.

"You show no desire to be at work on time and you always have poor excuses."

• Instead: I'm concerned about your attendance. The last two months you've had 6 late arrivals on ABCDEF days and called in without notice twice on XY days without an acceptable excuse or doctor note.

"Yet again, Amy is making mistake after mistake which shows she just doesn't care to do a good job."

• Instead:  Amy has made another mistake on her customer order sheet. This will be her 3rd time to submit a non-complete order sheet. Amy received training on how to properly complete the order sheet on X date and was directed to ask questions if she was unsure on anything.

"You're out again? Can you not work a full week. This is ridiculous."

• Instead: Amy, we hired you to work a full time M-F 40 hour a week position that you accepted. Your repeated absences are interfering with your work schedule as you've only worked one 40 hour week over the last 5 weeks. I need to know how we can ensure that you meet the 40 hour expectation as that's necessary and required of this position.

Under no circumstance should you ever make comments about another employees performance in a public area because people are always ease dropping! Don't create a mess and unnecessary office gossip. Remember that employee performance should always be kept confidential. 

What You Need to Know About Generation "Y" Workers

Generation Y workers have been a hot topic for many as employers try to figure out who they are, what they want and how the employer can not only attract but keep them.   Generation Y is also referred to as the "Millennials." They were born between 1977 and 1997 and have the skills and green minds that a lot of employers want on their team. They are the future of the workplace.   They're tech-savvy because they grew up using technology at a young age and technology and social media is what keeps many employers alive and competitive in today's market.   Generation Y candidates are looking to work with a manager and management team that they can respect and learn from. They also want to work where the environment is positive and people are social. Having a flexible schedule and strong work/life balance is also very important to them. They'd rather work hard and long for 4 days and be off 3 days instead of working the typical 5 day 8-5 job. They're outside life is just as important as their work life. They also prefer to work with a company that is innovative and using the top technologies in their workplace.   Employers should be focusing recruiting efforts by using social media and clever job announcements. Managers should be trained on how to be mentors not just managers. Get to know your people and show a genuine interest in what drives them both personally and professionally.

Lift Employee Awareness About Safe Lifting and Lower Injury Rates

Back injuries caused by improper lifting or overexertion are among the most common of workplace injuries. Good training and frequent reminders can reduce stress factors and reduce injuries.

You can never overemphasize safe lifting. In many workplaces almost every employee engages in lifting at some point during the workday. Some workers, like materials handlers, are constantly lifting and hefting heavy objects.

Safe Lifting Review 
To avoid lifting accidents and injuries, train employees to follow this safe lifting procedure:

• Position your feet a shoulder-width apart and place them as close to the object as possible. Make sure you have good footing so your feet do not slip when lifting. 
• Squat down next to the object by bending at your knees and hips. 
• Pull the load close to your body. When the object is close against your body, most of the weight of the object is supported vertically by your spine. However, if the load is held away from your body, then both vertical and horizontal forces are applied to your spine. Your spine cannot carry horizontal forces very well. 
• Get a firm grip on the object. You do not want it to slip or drop. 
• Tighten your stomach muscles to help support your back. 
• Rise up with your legs. Lifting your chin up will help prevent your bottom from sticking out and causing you to lift with your back instead of your legs. 
• Don't go it alone if the load is too heavy. Get help. 

Tips for Safer Lifting 
Share these tips for safer lifting with your workers:

• Maintain good lifting posture. Keep your back straight and strong at all times. Do not bend over or twist your back. 
• If you lose grip on an object, let it fall. A little damage to a box, container, or other item is nothing compared to a back injury. Attempting to make a quick adjustment in order to hold onto or catch a slipping or falling object will likely result in some type of back injury. 
• Before doing work that requires a lot of lifting, spend a couple of minutes stretching back, legs, and arms. Stretching at the start of each workday will is also a good idea and will improve your back's strength and flexibility. 

Safe Carrying 
Carrying a load properly is a key element to back safety. While many back injuries take place during the lifting phases, many are caused by improperly carrying the object.

Proper load carrying means more than simply holding or supporting the object. Employees should understand the following points about safe carrying: 

• Make sure you can see where you're going. Trying to save time by stacking objects is not worth getting injured because you can't see clearly. Back injuries can also be caused by falling or tripping! 
• Take small steps, and make sure your footing is stable. Be especially careful on steps, ramps, and areas with uneven surfaces. 
• Take extra care if you are walking on slippery or wet surfaces. Even rainwater can cause a surface to become extremely slippery. 
• Don't twist your back when carrying a load. To turn, move your feet rather than twisting your back. 
• If you feel the load is "getting away" from you, stop and lower it to the ground. It is far better to have to lift it again than it is to try and wrestle it while it is being carried. 
• If you feel a load is too heavy to handle by yourself, ask for help carrying it.

Engineering and Administrative Controls

• Encourage employees to use mechanical assist devices to relieve heavy load lifting and carrying tasks. Make sure lifting aids are readily available in areas where needed. 
• Rotate workers through several jobs with different physical demands to reduce the stress on back and upper body. 
• Schedule more breaks for materials handlers to allow for rest and recovery. 
• Vary the job content to offset back stress risk factors. 
• Adjust the work pace to relieve back stress risks and give the worker more control of the work process.

Company Holiday Parties: Could Your Organization Be Liable for a Drunk Driving Accident?

The holiday season is almost upon us, which makes this a good time to talk about company holiday parties and potential liability for the intoxication of employees attending the party.

After attending a dinner purportedly sponsored by her employer, an airline employee got into a car accident with another vehicle, killing herself and the other driver. The administrator of the other driver's estate sued, claiming that the airline was vicariously liable for the employee's intoxicated driving. The employer claimed that Illinois law preempted it from any alcohol-related liability.

What Happened 
The administrator, "Lane," produced evidence that the purpose of the dinner was to entertain the general manager of another branch of the employer, Korean Air, and that it had paid for the bill. The circuit court said this evidence created a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the employee was acting within the scope of her employment when the collision occurred, but it still dismissed the case, agreeing with the airline's claim that state law preempted its liability for the provision of alcohol. Lane appealed.

What the Court Said 
The Illinois Court of Appeals explained that it has "generally refused to impose liability under [state law] on employers who supply their employees with free alcohol at employer-sponsored events."

In reviewing past case law, however, the court cited the case of a business operator who was found to have a "duty of ordinary care” to individuals who were killed because of the negligent operation of a motor vehicle driven by one of its patrons after the business operator “encouraged [an] invitee to bring alcoholic beverages onto its premises in order [to] consume to the point of intoxication; thereafter removed its invitee from the premises because of his intoxication; [and] ordered and assisted the invitee into the driver seat of his vehicle."

The court also cited a case in which two brothers were cleared of a negligence claim for providing alcohol to a plaintiff’s daughter, but were held liable after "voluntarily undertaking to care for her after she became unconscious" and not doing so. This ruling showed that an act of omission, as well as affirmative misconduct (such as placing an intoxicated individual in his car), could result in liability. These cases established "a difference between claims arising from the defendant's provision of alcohol and claims based on other theories of liability."

Lane argued that a jury could find Korean Air vicariously liable under the theory of respondeat superior for the employee’s negligent driving. Since the lower court had already determined that it was at least possible that the employee had been acting within the scope of her employment at the time of the accident, appellate judges agreed and allowed her case to go forward.

Source: Safety Daily Advisor