 |
|
Oracle Tips by Burleson |
Consult
with Counsel and Human Resources Professionals
Throughout the process of investigating and
executing disciplinary actions up to and possibly including a firing,
involving an employment attorney would be very beneficial to the
employer. These attorneys are knowledgeable in the ever changing legal
aspects of disciplinary and termination cases, including Federal and
State laws. Their engagement will save the employer many difficulties
in defending lawsuits and preventing new suits from being filed in the
first place.
The provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act
(FMLA) provide an example of how complicated employment laws
have become and how important it is to take advantage of an employment
attorney’s expertise. Under the FMLA, an eligible employee is entitled
to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave within a 12 month period
for certain legitimate reasons. Every company should ensure that the
leave year is clearly defined
to avoid confusion as to whether the 12-workweek FMLA leave limit for
one year has been exceeded. Employers must notify employees in a
timely manner of their ineligibility for FMLA leave. Many employers
make the error of mistakenly confirming an ineligible employee’s
eligibility. This action would restrict the employer from subsequently
challenging the employee’s eligibility.
If discipline or employment termination is to be
administered for attendance issues that may be borderline FMLA-related,
then due diligence should be performed by the employer in several
areas. A good policy to define would have employers track employee
absences and document this history along with the associated reasons.
Of course, all such actions must be taken in conformance with medical
privacy laws.
The Human Resources
department should be involved before, during, and after termination
of an employee. Their expertise and training will be invaluable during
the process. All company policies must be properly in place before
their use is required. Then procedures will be necessary to navigate
through the disciplinary and firing proceedings, and the post-firing
processing of the employee.
Based on the company’s track record regarding the
frequency of lawsuits and their resolution, as well as any legal
changes, the Human Resources department
may have to adjust company policies, procedures, directives, and
training programs for all employees, especially for IT managers. These
actions should be done in close conjunction with the company’s
employment attorneys.
In some situations, the Human Resources
department would be the best starting point for employees who have a
complaint such as harassment. When an employee has approached their
manager regarding a harassment case, the manager would be well advised
to refer the employee to the Human Resources department since they are
the experts in this area and would most likely lead the investigation.
The manager would be involved as the case is processed. This
arrangement may vary from company to company.
 |
For more details and scripts, see my new book "
Oracle
Tuning: The Definitive Reference", over 900 pages
of BC's favorite tuning tips & scripts.
You can buy it direct from the publisher for 30%-off and get
instant access to the code depot. |
|
