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Ten New Year’s Resolutions for Human Resource Professionals
Posted by Attorney David McClurg in Employer-Employee Relationship, Human Resources, Business Management, Labor Relations / Comments
1) I will focus on improved documentation to support employment decisions. 2) I will routinely engage employees with physical or mental impairment in an interactive process to evaluate potential accommodations. 3) I will ask job applicants about potential accommodations (but never about the existence or nature of any disability) ONLY if:a) I reasonably believe the candidate has a need for accommodation because of an obvious disability;b) I reasonably believe the candidate may ...
Read MoreTHE FORBIDDEN PHRASES DON’T WORK
Posted by Attorney Roger L. Pettit in Employer-Employee Relationship, Human Resources, Business Management / Comments
In my last post I explained that using the forbidden phrases when terminating employees can foster lawsuits. Those phrases will never satisfy an opposing counsel or a fact finder in a lawsuit brought by disgruntled employees. The following fictionalized cross examinations illustrate why employers may wish they had been more forthright in the first place: Question:“Did you give Mr. Smith a reason for ...
Read MoreTHE FORBIDDEN PHRASES: How to increase the chance of litigation over an employee’s termination.
Posted by Attorney Roger L. Pettit in Employer-Employee Relationship, Human Resources, Business Management / Comments
Unless the employee is covered under a Collective Bargaining Agreement or a contract for a definite term, most states, including Wisconsin, consider the employment relationship to be at-will, i.e. an employer may terminate an employee without a defined level of “cause”. While many factors may contribute to the decision to terminate an employee, being honest and forthright in the termination process is an important consideration.No employee is ever terminated without ...
Read MoreConcealed Carry – What’s Your Policy?
Posted by Attorney David McClurg in Employer-Employee Relationship, Business Management / Comments
Wisconsin’s Concealed Carry Law took effect on November 1, 2011, and the Department of Justice was immediately inundated with applications for concealed carry (“CC”) licenses. While employers have the right to ban weapons in their facilities, in company owned vehicles and at their remote work locations, they cannot prohibit CC license holders from storing handguns in their own vehicles in the employer’s parking lot. Employers can, however, impose reasonable restrictions ...
Read MoreNLRB Pushes Ahead on “Quickie Election” Rule
Posted by Attorney David McClurg in Labor Relations / Comments
The National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") has announced that on November 30th it will conduct a public meeting at which it will vote whether to issue final rules regarding certain provisions of the so called "quickie election" procedures the NLRB proposed on June 22, 2011. The specific provisions of the final rules are not yet known, but it seems likely that they will provide for significantly faster processing ...
Read MoreIMMUNITY FOR WHAT? WHAT DOES THE EMPLOYER IMMUNITY UNDER WISCONSIN’S NEW CONCEALED CARRY LAW REALLY PROVIDE?
Posted by Attorney Roger L. Pettit in Employer-Employee Relationship, Business Management / Comments
Wisconsin Act 35 became effective November 1st. one of the act’s provisions provides immunity for employers “from any liability arising from its decision” to allow employees and invitees who are properly licensed to carry a concealed weapon.The purpose of the grant of immunity no doubt was to encourage acceptance of weapons in the workplace for those who have gotten a license to do so. But what does this immunity really ...
Read MoreWisconsin Employers Should Consider the Likely Increase in “Open Carry” when Developing Their Weapons/Firearms Policies
Posted by Attorney David McClurg in Human Resources, Business Management / Comments
Much has been written of late regarding the legalization of concealed carry of weapons by holders of valid permits in Wisconsin. However, little attention had been paid to the significant expansion of the right to openly carry loaded handguns in Wisconsin under Wisconsin’s Concealed Carry Law. “Open carry” is sometimes referred to as “constitutional carry” because the Wisconsin State Constitution provides that "The people have the right to keep and ...
Read MoreNRA weighs in on Wisconsin's Concealed Carry Rules
Posted by in Employer-Employee Relationship, Business Management / Comments
The National Rifle Association has voiced its displeasure over the emergency rules published by the Wisconsin Department of Justice. In particular the NRA takes issue with the rule that requires before an individual may be licensed to carry a concealed weapon, he or she must first complete a minimum of four hours of training and such training must include hands-on training. This rule arises from the Concealed Carry law's requirement ...
Read MoreIRS Announces Amnesty Program For Independent Contractor Misclassification
Posted by Attorney David McClurg in Business Management / Comments
The IRS recently announced a new program which will allow businesses to voluntarily reclassify independent contractors as “employees” for federal employment tax purposes. Employers participating in this Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (“VCSP”):1. Will have to pay only 10% of the employment tax liability that may have been due on compensation paid to the workers for the most recent tax year (about 1% of the wages paid to the ...
Read MoreEMPLOYEE RIGHTS REVISITED: WHAT THE NEW NLRB POSTER DOESN’T TELL EMPLOYEES ABOUT THEIR RIGHTS
Posted by Attorney Roger L. Pettit in Business Management, Labor Relations / Comments
In a previous post we reminded employers that beginning November 14, 2011 a new poster has to be displayed in the workplace that purports to advise employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). What the official poster stresses are employee rights and employer prohibitions as they relate to the presence of organized labor (Labor Unions) in the workplace.On October 5, 2011, the National Labor Relations ...
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