It’s Time to Write Your Company Code of Civility!
Like anything else in life, if we do not put any focus or importance in how we treat each other, we cannot ever expect improvement.
Balancing Empathy and Accountability for Remote Workers at Home
Written by Hannah Kirkland Maintaining a supportive environment while still encouraging employees to be productive is a tough balancing act. Requiring employees to work from home with family staying home as well, adds a new element to the balancing act. However, there are a handful of ways that you [READ MORE ...]
EEOC Suspends Issuance of Right-to-Sue Notices; Employers Need to Understand the Underlying Message.
There are two primary messages employers need to know regarding the EEOC suspension of case closed and right-to-sue notices.
What Your Employees Need From You Now
What employees need from HR right now.
Can’t We Have Consistency, Compliance AND Compassion?
An article posted yesterday in the SHRM HR Daily Newsletter, took a stand that in HR matters, “Consistency Might Not Be Worth the Cost.” Although I understand that no two situations are exactly the same, and careful consideration of all the factors should drive reasonable outcomes, taking out the [READ MORE ...]
The HR Impact of Gender Quota Board of Directors
Whichever side of the line you stand on, everyone seems to agree that the new California law requiring at least one board seat be filled by a female for publicly traded companies leaves a lot of room for debate and concern. In fact, Governor Jerry Brown wrote in his [READ MORE ...]
Human Resources Investigations: Are You Outsourcing or Insourcing?
Is Your Company Outsourcing or Insourcing Your HR Investigations? According to an article in Bloomberg Law, (Article: Surge in Outside Workplace Investigations in #MeToo Milieuir) there has been a surge in the number of workplace investigations being conducted by third-party investigators. Along with the high level, high dollar cases we [READ MORE ...]
HR Offense -vs- Defense. What’s Your Plan?
It still surprises me when I hear that employees have brought forth a complaint to HR or a company executive, and no investigation was conducted. Although the numbers are reducing over time, some organizations still believe that there is less liability in simply doing nothing. Then, if a claim [READ MORE ...]
Ford did their investigation, so what went wrong? Result: $10M Settlement.
When a company is in the news for paying out at large harassment discrimination settlement, the first thought is that they did not conduct an appropriate investigation. But that is not always the case. Last week the EEOC ended an investigation into claims of harassment by employees in two [READ MORE ...]
Take back your Summer with this special offer.
Summer is a busy time for HR people (like most of the year). As fellow HR professionals, we want you to enjoy the Summer. Investipro can reduce your average time by 30% per investigation, while ensuring a consistent and compliant outcome. Take advantage of your free upgrade to a [READ MORE ...]
Workplace Investigations Improve Company Culture. Really?
Over the last few months, I have been speaking at regional HR meetings on the topic of “Using Workplace Investigations to Drive Employee Engagement and Improve Company Culture. And although I hear some skepticism on how this could be possible, attendance has been at very high levels. When talking [READ MORE ...]
Will Your Investigator Spill The Beans? A Lesson From The White House.
Whether it’s your VP of HR, a department manager or an outside investigator, can you be sure your workplace investigator won’t jeopardize the investigation by sharing too much information? We all believe that our people know better than to share the details of an investigation with anyone who does [READ MORE ...]
When HR Does Something Good “Just Because”.
In work, as in life, it is often the little things that matter. Let’s face it, life isn’t perfect. And although we all try not to bring our personal lives into the workplace, there are times when it just can’t be helped. As HR professionals, we are often aware [READ MORE ...]
5 Common Misnomers Re: Employer Retaliation
We all know that the laws enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) make it illegal to fire, demote, harass, or otherwise retaliate against either job applicants or employees based upon the individual doing any of the following: filing a charge of discrimination, complaining to their employer about discrimination on the job, or [READ MORE ...]
Your Employee Called the EEOC. Now what?
Any employee who feels he/she has been discriminated against or harassed can file a complaint against her employer with the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or State Fair Employment Office. Whether or not the complaint has merit, the employer must then spend time, effort, and often money to [READ MORE ...]
How Do You “Deal With It”?
In the February edition of the SHRM HR Magazine, (Yes, I know it’s March but I am a bit behind on my reading. Aren’t we all?), I read an article about dealing with difficult employees that I found to be quite interesting. I know that this topic isn’t new, but [READ MORE ...]
Will There Be Over 90,000 Discrimination Charges Filed In 2017?
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released the 2016 statistics for discrimination and harassment cases filed for the year, showing an increase for the second consecutive year. Discrimination charges were filed in 91,503 cases (29% being sex based claims). The interesting point here is that the agency [READ MORE ...]
Does This Require an Investigation?
The answer seems to depend on who you ask. Some will give you the definition of what requires an investigation under harassment discrimination laws. Others will say that you should only conduct an investigation when it is absolutely clear that an investigation is legally required, in order to avoid [READ MORE ...]
Can Your Company Afford $22,500 in Lost Productivity…Per Employee?
Over the weekend, I came across an interesting article in the Harvard Business Review titled, Why We Fail to Report Sexual Harassment. The article addressed the fact that despite employer efforts to train staff and investigate complaints, the majority of employees affected by harassment, whether victims or bystanders, do [READ MORE ...]
3 real calls from EEs looking to file claims
I am often asked, “Are employers really still finding reasons to fire employees in order to avoid taking the steps of conducting an investigation?” The answer is, yes! It’s unfortunate, but it is still happening. InvestiPro received the following three calls from employees who were looking to file a [READ MORE ...]