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Showing posts for: Jodi Slavik

Jul 18 2017
Privacy & ConfidentialityQ&A

Think twice before telling the truth about former employees

A: Not so fast! A signed release seems like a golden ticket to share your true feelings and frustrations about a former employee, but the release may not actually protect you. That’s what an Indiana medical clinic recently found out the hard way. In this situation, the clinic settled an EEOC claim with a former…

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Jun 15 2017
Drug and Alcohol

Positive drug tests on the rise

In a report released May 16, 2017, Quest Diagnostics revealed that American workplace drug testing has reached its highest positivity rate in 12 years. After analyzing more than ten million drug test results in 2016, Quest found that workers tested positive in 4.2 percent of all urine tests—a 5 percent jump from 2015 numbers. Notably,…

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Jun 12 2017
DisabilityQ&A

Q&A: Employer doesn’t have to promote to accommodate disability

A: No. Your obligation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is to reasonably accommodate her disability so that she can perform the essential functions of her job. To figure out what this accommodation might be, you must engage in back-and-forth dialogue with the employee to determine what she needs—usually with help from her doctor—and…

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May 26 2017
HiringImmigration

A glitch in the system: Are you using the correct Form I-9?

On April 6, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) disclosed on its “what’s new” feed that an early version of the new Form I-9 contained an internal technical error. Then on April 17, the agency alerted the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) that some HR professionals are inadvertently using that bad form. Apparently,…

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Apr 18 2017
Harassment & DiscriminationHiringQ&A

Q&A: Hiring a transgender receptionist

A: No. Customer-facing jobs, such as receptionists and sales representatives, are often tied to having a socially acceptable “look.” While it is perfectly legal to require a professional, clean appearance, it is generally illegal to require an employee to look like a specific gender. This is considered gender stereotyping, and there is a long line…

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Apr 18 2017
HiringPrivacy & ConfidentialityQ&A

Q&A: Use caution before telling the truth about former employee

Answer: Not so fast! A signed release seems like a golden ticket to share your true feelings and frustrations about a former employee, but the release may not actually provide you with legal protection. In fact, that’s exactly what an Indiana medical clinic recently found out the hard way. In their situation, the clinic settled…

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Apr 04 2017
Harassment & DiscriminationTermination & Resignation

Female supervisor fired for sharing a stale cake will get her day in court

The supervisor, a single mother of seven, had worked for WinCo for 12 years. In that time, she was promoted to night-shift freight crew supervisor and had taken a leadership role on the safety committee. According to store practice, the supervisor was allowed to take stale cakes from the bakery cart to give to her…

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Feb 06 2017
DisabilityHiringQ&A

Q&A: Think twice before revoking job offers based on red flags

Answer: You have the right to revoke an offer when you have a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason, such as not hiring someone who was terminated for attendance violations. However, in this case it’s not that simple. Two other key issues about his prior job surfaced: he alleged a disability and he filed a claim against his…

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Jan 03 2017
Q&ATermination & ResignationWage and Hour

Can we deduct from a final paycheck for a missing laptop?

A: If you are in the State of Washington, there is a narrow window that would allow you to withhold the cost of the laptop from his final paycheck, but the penalties are high if you get it wrong. You can deduct from final pay for breakage or loss of equipment if it was caused…

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Nov 07 2016
WashingtonWorkers’ Comp

WASHINGTON: L&I proposes workers’ comp rate increase for 2017

L&I reviews rates every fall to ensure that they are sufficient to cover expected claim payouts, account for wage inflation, and appropriately build the contingency reserve fund. However, because 0.7 percent is an average, some risk class increases will be higher and some will be lower. A few industries with higher rates include: Food processing…

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Sep 14 2016
Harassment & Discrimination

Prompt investigation saves employer from harassment liability

In a nod to the value of HR professionals, a federal district court in Tennessee dismissed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) case against Autozone, finding that the company did enough to stop alleged harassment by a store manager. How did the company address allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace? In this case, a…

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Jul 21 2016
Safety and Health

OSHA will scrutinize employee safety incentive programs

Safety incentive programs are under fire from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In our last newsletter, we reported on OSHA’s general disapproval of automatic post-accident drug testing in its new injury and illness reporting rule. In commentary to the rule, OSHA also expresses discontent about safety incentive programs. Although OSHA’s dislike of incentive…

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