Category Archives: discipline and discharge

Why Would Employees Tease About Nooses In 2013?

Posted on February 12, 2013 by mavity2012

I was surprised and disappointed when I read about a punitive damages award against a north Carolina employer who allegedly tolerated employees referring to an African-American coworker as a “coon” and offering him a hangman’s noose. It’s 2013, not 1960. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in cultural changes, discipline and discharge, EEOC, government inspections, harassment, managing legal matters | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Victories Like These Put Employers Out Of Business

Posted on February 7, 2013 by mavity2012

Definition of a Pyrrhic Victory: “a victory at such a great cost that another such victory will lead to defeat.” Lawyers are justly proud when they win a difficult discrimination or harassment case. However, after a couple of hundred thousand … Continue reading →

Posted in cultural changes, discipline and discharge, EEOC, government inspections, harassment | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

D.C. Court of Appeals Rules NLRB Recess Appointments Were Unconstitutional

Posted on January 25, 2013 by mavity2012

Wow. The Administration will appeal this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, but if the Court upholds the Appeals Court, hundreds of NLRB decisions, some of them quite controversial, will be thrown out. I hope that we do not now hear a … Continue reading →

Posted in concerted protected activity, discipline and discharge, employer policies, government inspections, NLRB, social media, union organizing, unions | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

For My Fellow Attorneys… Do the Cobbler’s Children Have Shoes?

Posted on January 24, 2013 by mavity2012

I could not resist linking to a recent Fortune Magazine article criticizing law firm treatment of personnel; especially associates. Because we are a labor firm, we are constantly becoming better at practicing what we preach, but it requires purposeful effort … Continue reading →

Posted in cultural changes, discipline and discharge, employer policies, management and leadership, managing legal matters | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

OSHA WILL Go After You If They Don’t Like Your Policies On Discipline For Not reporting Injuries

Posted on January 17, 2013 by mavity2012

OSHA Region V recently gave a presentation on their focus on retaliation cases, including an intense scrutiny of rules and discipline related to failure to timely report workplace injuries. These comments reflect the OSHA National emphasis  I keep harping about … Continue reading →

Posted in aging workforce, discipline and discharge, employer policies, government inspections, incentive plans, OSHA, whistleblower/retaliation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Common ADA Screw-up’s – Not Documenting That Individual Interaction Process

Posted on January 17, 2013 by mavity2012

Common ADA Screw-up’s – Not Documenting Individual Interaction With Employees Who May Have Disability Conditions I will start blogging about various common mistakes in several areas, including the ADA, OSHA compliance, and investigation/discipline and discharge. As a starting point, I … Continue reading →

Posted in ADA, aging workforce, discipline and discharge, EEOC, hospitality, litigation, workers comp | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Predictions About the NLRB

Posted on January 14, 2013 by mavity2012

The Workforce Fairness Institute just published an interesting analysis of likely actions by the NLRB in 2013 – NLRB Targets Secret Ballot and Employee Private Information.  The authors feel pretty strongly about the material and make little pretense of neutrality, … Continue reading →

Posted in concerted protected activity, discipline and discharge, employer policies, government inspections, hospitality, NLRB, social media, union organizing, unions | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Part 2 – Care and Feeding of Counsel

Posted on January 14, 2013 by mavity2012

Posted below is Part 2 of my ruminations on selecting and managing labor counsel.  I prepared Part 1, the first 10 points,  after sharing my Las Vegas partner, Mark Ricciardi’s multi-part series on selecting employment counsel.  It is our hope that … Continue reading →

Posted in cultural changes, discipline and discharge, employer policies, litigation, managing legal matters | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Wash Your $!&# Hands! Employers and the Flu

Posted on January 11, 2013 by mavity2012

The CDC reports that the current flu season will be the worst one in recent years. On January 9, news outlets carried stories about the City of Boston declaring a state of public health emergency and of Chicago hospitals having … Continue reading →

Posted in aging workforce, concerted protected activity, cultural changes, discipline and discharge, EEOC, employer benefit plans, employer policies, food processing, generational differences, government inspections, hospitality, managing legal matters, manufacturing, NLRB, OSHA, retail, social media, union organizing, unions, wellness | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Confusion About Safety Incentive Plans – Legal or Illegal?

Posted on January 9, 2013 by mavity2012

Questions about Safety Incentive Plans have resurfaced in a number of discussions and blogs because of OSHA’s steadily increasing rhetoric against safety incentive programs that rely on injury data and/or whose incentives OSHA deems to be of sufficient magnitude to … Continue reading →

Posted in aging workforce, construction, discipline and discharge, employer policies, government contracting, government inspections, incentive plans, manufacturing, OSHA, plastics, workers comp | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment