Popular employment law presentation for business owners and managers. Includes tips on job descriptions, hiring, new hire documents, harassment, employee handbooks, performance evaluations, employee discipline & employee termination.

1. 59
Employment Law Tips
59
in
Minutes
2002-10 © Alan J. Thayer, Jr.
All rights reserved.

2. Presented
as an educational service
by

3. Oregon Business Attorney
Alan Thayer

5. Could you survive a costly employee lawsuit?

6. 53 %
of businesses have been sued by employees
- Jackson Lewis/SHRM Survey (2003)

7. Right Now
150,000
U.S. businesses are being sued by their employees
- USA Today (2002)

8. 450
Employee lawsuits filed each day
- Nations Business (Feb 1, 1998)

9. Employees win
63 %
of all employment cases
- Jury Verdict Research

10. Employees win
72 %
of all race discrimination cases
- Jury Verdict Research

11. Employees win
74 %
of all sex discrimination cases
- Jury Verdict Research

12. $553,761
Average employment case verdict
- Jury Verdict Research

13. $671,668
Average whistle blower verdict
- Jury Verdict Research

14. $839,212
Average verdict against manufacturers
- Jury Verdict Research

15. Employee lawsuits are the greatest
litigation risk.
- U.S. Corporate Litigation Trends Survey
Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. 2004

16. 59 Employment Law Tips

17. 1 Assume a current, former or potential
employee will sue you.

18. 2 You can not predict which employee
will sue you.

19. Job Descriptions

20. Always provide
3 applicants &
candidates for
advancement
with a written
job description.

21. Use your job
4 description
when an injured
worker seeks to
return to work
too soon.

22. Hiring

23. 5 Always, always, always have applicants
SIGN your form of employment
application.

24. 6 Have applicants certify the information
they provide is accurate.

25. 7 Have applicants promise to follow all
of your rules, regulations & policies.

26. Have applicants acknowledge that you
8 may not have any job openings.

27. 9 Have applicants agree that you may
investigate their backgrounds.

28. 10 Have applicants authorize schools &
prior employers to talk to you.

29. 11 Have applicants acknowledge you are
an at-will employer.

30. 12 Have applicants authorize deductions
from their final paychecks.

31. 13 Have applicants acknowledge that their
application is valid for only 30 days.

32. 14 Have applicants agree that any disputes
will be resolved by arbitration.

33. 15 Return all unsolicited resumes.

34. 16 Use separate release forms for each
reference, school & prior employer.

35. New Hire Documents

36. 17 Have new hires sign dispute resolution
agreements.

37. 18 Have new hires sign noncompetition
agreements when appropriate.

38. 19 Have new hires sign separate
confidentiality agreements.

39. 20 Have new hires sign separate
nonsolicitation agreements.

40. 21 Save your employees’ I-9 forms in a
separate I-9 file.

41. 22 Safeguard key documents signed by
employees.

42. Harassment

43. 23 Have EVERY employee sign an
UP-TO-DATE harassment policy.

44. 24 Remind your employees of your
harassment policy regularly.

45. Employee Handbooks

46. 25 Use an employee
handbook to
communicate your
expectations to your
employees & to
document your policies.

47. 26 Draft a customized
handbook - one
size does not fit all
employers.

48. 27 Do not limit your ability
to deal with employee
problems on a case-by-
case basis.

49. 28 Update your handbook
EVERY YEAR.

50. 29 DO NOT copy the
handbook of another
employer.

51. 30 Review your handbook
before taking disciplinary
action against an
employee.

52. Make it easy for
31 employees to express
complaints & concerns.

53. 32 Make it easy to request
accommodations for
disabilities & religious
observances.

54. Performance Evaluations

55. 33 DO NOT promise to give
performance evaluations on any
particular schedule.

56. Give honest, accurate & constructive
34 performance evaluations in writing.

57. 35 Base evaluations on the employee’s job
duties (use job description).

58. 36 Objective evaluations minimize
unfairness & manager bias.

59. 37 State any corrective action required &
consequences for failure to improve.

60. 38 Have managers review all evaluations
with another manager before giving
the evaluation to the employee.

61. 39 Give employees an opportunity to
discuss the evaluation with their
manager.

62. 40 Give employees an opportunity to
note any comments on the evaluation
before signing.

63. 41 Periodically review evaluations to
ensure they are consistently applied by
each manager.

64. 42 Counsel any managers whose reviews
appear to be inconsistent.

65. Employee Discipline

66. 43 Your warnings for misconduct should
contain two vital elements.

67. 1. Describe what the employee is
doing wrong.

68. 2. State the consequences if the
behavior continues.

69. 44 ALWAYS document a verbal warning in
writing immediately after it is given.

70. 45 Always deliver written warnings in
person & document what was said in
writing immediately after the meeting.

71. 46 Conduct an impartial investigation of
complaints against an employee before
making a discipline decision.

72. 47 Interview the accused employee, tell
them of the complaint & allow them to
tell their side of the story.

73. 48 Allow employees (union or non-union)
to have a representative present during
their interview if requested.

74. 49 Interview other witnesses that may
have knowledge of events relating to
the complaint.

75. 50 Have all statements contradicting the
employee documented in writing &
signed by the witnesses.

76. 51 Consider having legal counsel conduct
the investigation & interviews.

77. 52 If the investigation concludes that
disciplinary action is required, review
the employee’s disciplinary record.

78. Review the discipline imposed in
53 similar situations in the past.

79. 54 Balance the seriousness of the conduct
with the employee’s overall record to
determine the appropriate discipline.

80. 55 Document the results of your
investigation & the reasons for any
disciplinary actions.

81. Employee Termination

82. 56 Avoid summary terminations - take
time to investigate & document the
reasons for termination.

83. 57 DO NOT wait until Friday to
terminate an employee.

84. 58 Tell the truth about the termination.

85. 59 Have terminated employees sign a
written Severance Agreement releasing
you from liability.

86. Employer Strategies
1 TakeCharge! Supervisor Guide
2 TakeCharge! Employment Forms
3 TakeCharge! Employee Handbook
4 Update Continually

87. Legal compliance can become a competitive advantage for you.

88. Oregon Business Attorney
Alan Thayer
welcomes your questions
and comments
541-345-2325 • www.thinkILG.com • alan@thinkILG.com