"do sweat the small stuff - little hr mistakes that can cause big legal problems"
DESCRIPTION
HR Managers - attached is my Powerpoint Presentation on "Little" HR Mistakes to AvoidTRANSCRIPT
DO SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF – LITTLE HR MISTAKES THAT CAN CAUSE BIG PROBLEMS
Mitchell W. Quick, Esq.Amy Schmidt Jones, Esq. May 3, 2012
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 2
THE DETAILS MATTER
PAYING ATTENTION TO THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF EVERYDAY HUMAN RESOURCES TASKS IS OFTEN THE KEY TO PREVENTING AND/OR WINNING LAWSUITS
FEWER LAWSUITS = MORE JOB SECURITY FOR YOU
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 3
THE CASE OF THE MISSING DECIMAL POINT
JPMORGAN SUED – OFFER LETTER TO TRADER FAILED TO INCLUDE DECIMAL POINT
TRADER THOUGHT HE WAS BEING PAID $24 MILLION RAND, INSTEAD OF $2.4 MILLION RAND
IN U.S. DOLLARS – ABOUT A $3 MILLION DOLLAR DIFFERENCE
COMPANY DISCOVERED IT, AND RETRACTED OFER BEFORE HE STARTED
HE REFUSED TO START AND SUED
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 4
THE CASE OF THE MISSING DECIMAL POINT
RESULT – EMPLOYEE LOST AT TRIAL COURT HELD EMPLOYEE ACTED WITH “EYES
WIDE OPEN” CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION? NOT SO MUCH – BIG ATTORNEY’S FEES, WASTE
OF TIME, AND BAD PRESS
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 5
WEAPONS OF CASE DESTRUCTION
TELEPHONES
COMPUTERS
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 6
PHONE TIPS
NEVER TALK WITH A LAWYER REPRESENTING AN EMPLOYEE OVER THE PHONE
EVERYTHING YOU SAY IS EVIDENCE THAT WILL BE USED AGAINST YOU
YOU COULD BE TAPED
YOU ARE NOT GOING TO TALK THE LAWYER OUT OF BRINGING THE CASE
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 7
PHONE TIPS
IF YOU HAVE COMPANY COUNSEL, THE LAWYER PROBABLY SHOULD NOT CONTACT YOU
THE SAME RULES APPLY FOR CALLS WITH ATTORNEYS FROM GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
TELL THE LAWYER TO CALL OR WRITE YOUR LAWYER
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 8
PHONE TIPS
SAVE ALL VOICEMAILS IF POSSIBLE, AND ALSO TRANSCRIBE THEM
FOREVER PRESERVE ANY STATEMENTS OF QUITTING, INSUBORDINATION, OR THREATS
SAVE ANY “EXCUSES” FOR ABSENCES WHEN YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIKELY TERMINATING THE EMPLOYEE
SAVE ANY UNIQUE ACCOMODATION REQUESTS
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 9
PHONE TIPS
DON’T TALK WITH AN AGENCY INVESTIGATOR OVER THE PHONE BEFORE RECEIVING A LETTER CONFIRMING AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
ANYTHING YOU SAY IS EVIDENCE, AND IF CAUGHT OFF GUARD, YOU MIGHT SAY SOMETHING INACCURATE
DO YOU KNOW THE PERSON IS ACTUALLY FROM A GOVT. AGENCY, OR IS IT ACTUALLY THE EMPLOYEE’S FRIEND OR LAWYER?
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 10
PHONE TIPS
DON’T DELETE TEXTS FROM EMPLOYEES
FOREVER PRESERVE ANY STATEMENTS OF QUITTING, INSUBORDINATION, OR THREATS
SAVE ANY EXCUSES FOR ABSENCES WHEN YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIKELY TERMINATING THE EMPLOYEE
SAVE ANY UNIQUE ACCOMMODATION REQUESTS
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 11
PHONE TIPS
DON’T TALK WITH AN EMPLOYEE’S FAMILY MEMBERS OFTEN TIMES THEY ARE FISHING FOR
INFORMATION TO USE AGAINST THE COMPANY (SUCH AS A PROMISE OR ADMISSION)
OFTEN ARGUE AND ACT AS THE EMPLOYEE’S ADVOCATE – NOTHING GOOD COMES FROM THIS
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 12
PHONE TIPS
YOU HAVE NO LEGAL OBLIGATION TO TALK TO THEM (UNLESS EMPLOYEE IS A MINOR OR CALLER IS GUARDIAN)
EXPLAIN YOU WILL TALK TO THE EMPLOYEE, BUT CANNOT TALK TO THEM BECAUSE IT IS A CONFIDENTIAL, PERSONNEL MATTER
DISCUSSING CONFIDENTIAL EMPLOYEE INFORMATION COULD LEAD TO A PRIVACY CLAIM
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 13
MAIL TIPS
SIGN AND MAKE A COPY OF SIGNED COPY FOR THE FILE OF ALL IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS YOU MAIL OUT TO EMPLOYEES Termination letters FMLA letters COBRA Forms/cover letter Offers of employment Responses to accommodation requests
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 14
MAIL TIPS
SEND ALL IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS BY REGULAR AND CERTIFIED MAIL AND INDICATE MEANS OF DELIVERY ON THE LETTER Termination letters FMLA letters COBRA Forms/cover letter Offers of employment Responses to accommodation requests
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 15
MAIL TIPS
KEEP ALL SIGNED RECEIPTS OF MAIL SENT THIS IS YOUR PROOF THE EMPLOYEE GOT NOTICE CAN START THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS RUNNING
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 16
MAIL TIPS
MAKE SURE YOU KEEP ALL LEGAL DOCUMENTS SERVED ON YOU BY MAIL OR OTHERWISE, AND IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY LEGAL COUNSEL Two guy sued Pepsi for “stealing their idea”
of selling purified bottled water Pepsi misplaced paperwork, didn’t answer
or show up for court Default judgment – $1.26 BILLION
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 17
MAIL TIPS
The Lesson: some documents are more important than others, and are not “junk mail”
Do not assume your lawyer was served the same day or knows about the lawsuit
EEOC Charges, ERD Complaints, Wage Claims, Personnel Record Requests, etc. have short deadlines and need immediate response
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 18
COMPUTER TIPS
PROOFREAD AND SPELLCHECK ALL KEY DOCUMENTS Pacific Yellow Pages ran an ad for a travel company
that stated the travel firm specialized in providing EROTIC travel services
It should have said EXOTIC Company lost a LOT of clients Sued for $10 million
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 19
COMPUTER TIPS
READ AND RE-READ THAT EMAIL BEFORE SENDING
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 20
COMPUTER TIPS
A UK Company, Aviva Investors, had previously announced they were going to eliminate 12% of their workforce (160 positions)
The Company sent out an email to an employee that spelled out the requirements of the employee’s confidentiality agreement
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 21
COMPUTER TIPS
The email also included the line: “I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO THANK YOU AND WISH YOU ALL THE BEST FOR THE FUTURE”
The problem? The email went to all 1,300 of the Company’s employees
The lesson – avoid itchy trigger fingers on the keyboard
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 22
COMPUTER TIPS
Watch your tone and maintain professionalism. All caps and multiple exclamation points do not present the picture of a level-headed employer.
Some subjects and sentiments are not well-suited to e-mail exchanges. Discussion of legal risk associated with action Expressions of frustration or annoyance
04/13/23 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP © 23
COMPUTER TIPS
An example from the C-Suite: Today’s e-mail becomes tomorrow’s PR nightmare.
From: Ben Baldanza [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, August 20, 2007 1:02 PMTo: (removed by alex), Christy; Martin (removed by alex); Tony
(removed by alex); John (removed by alex); Pasquale (removed by alex)
Subject: Re: Complaint
Please respond, Pasquale, but we owe him nothing as far as I'm concerned. Let him tell the world how bad we are. He's never flown us before anyway and will be back when we save him a penny.