This post was authored by Elizabeth T. Arce.
In December 2011, a Macy’s employee was fired because she refused to allow a teenage transgender customer use of the women’s dressing area. Natalie Johnson, who worked at a Macy’s in …
Category Archives: Personnel Issues
Subscribe to Personnel Issues RSS FeedPerformance Evaluations: Why It’s A Good Thing For Public Employers
Posted in Personnel Issues, Workplace Policies
In the corporate world, the practice of giving annual performance reviews to employees has come under attack in recent years. Leading business magazines and newspapers have printed articles advocating for the elimination of performance evaluations. There are even books in …
Sexual Harassment Training Under Scrutiny: It’s Not Just What You Say, But What You Do That Matters
Posted in Harassment, Legislation, Personnel Issues, Public Sector, Workplace Policies
In the wake of recent attention to sexual harassment in the workplace, employers and members of the public are asking: what about all of those sexual harassment trainings we required? Are they helping? How do we know? And, if they’re …
The Annual Look at the Weird, Wacky and Just Plain Strange Employment Lawsuits
Posted in Discrimination, Employment, Personnel Issues, Workplace Policies
It is that time again. These are actual employment cases. Really, they are.
Mad at your co-workers? Tell a friend, not Facebook
Jayne Brill sued her former employer and the Virginia Employment Commission because she was terminated and denied unemployment …
Don’t Wait for a Scandal: Now is the Time to Update Your Agency’s Harassment Policies and Procedures
Posted in Discrimination, Harassment, Personnel Issues, Retaliation, Workplace Policies
The allegations of sexual harassment and assault levied against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein have been front page news for the last week. The board of directors of his company swiftly voted to terminate his employment, but only time will tell …
An Employee Has Raised a Disability for the First Time During a Skelly. What Now?
Posted in Appeals, Disability, Discrimination, Employment, Personnel Issues
This post was authored by Kristin D. Lindgren
Intro
Employers are well aware that employee disabilities can create mine fields due to the technical nature of disability discrimination laws. Even the most well-intentioned employers can run into trouble. But, what …
Prevention, Prevention, Prevention! It’s Time to Audit Your Agency’s Personnel Rules
Posted in Personnel Issues
Prevention of liability starts with auditing your agency’s personnel rules. Indeed, in an employment-related lawsuit, the applicable personnel rule is often “Exhibit A.” Each year, public agencies face changes to employment laws and regulations, best management practices, and internal changes …
PERB Expands Right to Union Representation to Interactive Process Meetings
Posted in Personnel Issues
The Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) recently held in Sonoma County Superior Court (Sonoma) that employees are entitled to union representation at interactive process meetings. With this ruling, PERB expressly overturned prior precedent on this issue.
Before the Sonoma ruling, …
Performance Evaluations: Why It’s A Good Thing For Public Employers
Posted in Personnel Issues, Workplace Policies
In the corporate world, the practice of giving annual performance reviews to employees is under attack. Leading business magazines and newspapers have printed articles advocating for the elimination of performance evaluations. There are even books in the marketplace that teach …
What Happens in Vegas Might Be Covered by the FMLA
Posted in FMLA, Personnel Issues, Workplace Policies
The FMLA provides an eligible employee the right to 12 workweeks of leave to care for the employee’s spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition. Consequently, employers generally grant employee requests to use FMLA leave when their family …
5 Resolutions for the New Year
Posted in Employment, Personnel Issues, Workplace Policies
It’s that time of year again to reflect on this year’s achievements and set goals for the new year. With the beginning of 2014 upon us, we encourage personnel and human resources directors, managers and
1. Evaluate Your Agency’s Handling …
Genetic Information: A Protected Classification for the 21st Century
Posted in Discrimination, Harassment, Hiring, Personnel Issues, Retaliation
In the 1997 science fiction film Gattaca, the main character Vincent lives in a futuristic world where success is based on an individual’s genetic profile instead of experience or education. Because Vincent’s genes are considered inferior, he assumes the …
5 New Year’s Resolutions for Public Employers
Posted in Employment, FLSA, Personnel Issues, Workplace Policies
With the beginning of each new year, we make resolutions that often involve improving ourselves: lose weight; eat healthier; get organized. The new year is also a good time for personnel and human resources directors, managers and analysts to resolve …
EEOC Wastes No Time Implementing New Enforcement Goals by Cracking Down on Pregnancy Discrimination
Posted in Discrimination, Personnel Issues
As part of its Strategic Enforcement Plan for 2012-2016 (“the SEP”), the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) identified the following five priorities for national enforcement in the private and federal, state and local government sectors:
1. Eliminating systemic barriers …
New California Laws Limit Access to Employee, Student Usernames and Passwords
Posted in Hiring, Legislation, Personnel Issues, Privacy, Social Media
Governor Jerry Brown last week signed two new privacy laws that will go into effect January 1, 2013. AB 1844 and SB 1349 prohibit employers, colleges and universities from requiring or asking prospective and current employees and students to disclose …
Campaigns, Elections, Voting and the Workplace
Posted in Personnel Issues, Workplace Policies
Obama or Romney? “Yes” or “No” on Proposition 30? With the election only several weeks away, these questions are starting to make their way into the workplace as political debates among co-workers are starting to break out in lunch rooms, …
The Cautionary Tale of the “Florida Cop Who Won’t Stay Fired”
Posted in Employment, Personnel Issues
Disciplining employees is a necessary part of employment. However, employers often struggle with employees who engage in misconduct, especially where the employer believes the employees should be terminated. Recently, we came across the story of a Florida police officer which …
Who Really Is A Supervisor Under Title VII?
Posted in Harassment, Litigation, Personnel Issues
This guest post was authored by Gurinder Grewal
Employers and employees often struggle to determine who really is a supervisor in a workplace. Is it someone who can hire and fire workers? Or can it be someone who gives out …
NLRB Releases New Report Regarding Employer Social Media Policies
Posted in Personnel Issues, Social Media, Workplace Policies
The National Labor Relations Board issued a new report discussing seven social media cases handled by the agency. This report is the third released by the NLRB regarding social media in the last year, and focuses on the policies of …
New Maryland Law Prohibits Employers from Asking for Social Media Passwords
Posted in Hiring, Legislation, Personnel Issues, Privacy, Social Media
Maryland recently became the first in the nation to ban employers from asking job applicants and employees for their Facebook and other social media passwords. The law was signed into legislation by Maryland’s Governor approximately one year after the ACLU …
Use of Arrest and Conviction Records In Hiring
Posted in Discrimination, Hiring, Personnel Issues, Workplace Policies
When was the last time your agency reviewed its policy regarding the use of arrest and conviction records in hiring? If the answer to this question does not readily come to mind, it may be a good time to audit …
Only Current Peace Officers May Inspect Personnel Records Under POBOR
Posted in Personnel Issues
In Barber v. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Court of Appeal held that a terminated peace officer no longer has a right to inspect personnel and internal affairs records under the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of …
Does Discrimination Occur Against Workers With Caregiving Responsibilities?
Posted in Disability, Discrimination, Personnel Issues
Balancing work and family is becoming increasingly difficult. Workers are not only responsible for caring for their own children but many are now the primary caretakers of aging parents. It is also not uncommon for grandparents to care for grandchildren …
Balancing Conflicts Between Work And Religion
Posted in Personnel Issues, Workplace Policies
Recently, a Macy’s employee was fired because she refused to allow a teenage transgender customer use of the women’s dressing area. Natalie Johnson, who worked at a Macy’s in San Antonio, Texas, watched the teenager shop in the women’s …