An employer's nightmare? Problem employees, of course. But in today's world, many business owners, supervisors and managers often want to work effectively with difficult employees rather than fire them -- and Dealing With Problem Employees shows them how. This book combines the practical and legal information employers need. Providing a plain-English overview of employment law, Dealing With Problem Employees also shows readers how to: head off potential problems and conflicts recognize who is and isn't a problem employee evaluate the circumstances investigate problems and complaints conduct performance evaluations apply progressive discipline suspend employees, if necessary terminate employment deal with the results of termination handle severances and references avoid legal trouble The 2nd edition is completely updated to reflect the latest employment laws in every state. It includes a new chapter on how to avoid hiring problem employees in the first place, and provides sample policies to help give you a trouble-free workplace. NOTE: This book does not cover hiring or layoffs. For more information on these topics, see The Employer's Legal Handbook, published by Nolo.

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In the chapters that follow, we will talk extensively about strategies for dealing with employee problems. Before we do that, however, we'd like to turn the spotlight on the problems themselves. After all, that's why you bought the book in the first place, right? You've got a problem and you want to solve it. In this chapter, we examine specific employee problems and look at how you can address them. As part of this discussion, we will refer to the strategies and management techniques that we discuss in the rest of the book, including: performance evaluations (see Chapter 3) progressive discipline (see Chapter 4) effective investigations (see Chapter 5) suspension (see Chapter 5) termination (see Chapters 6 through 9), and hiring (Chapter 10). The chart at the end of the chapter, "Problems and Strategies," summarizes your strategies to the typical problems discussed in the text. Healthy Practices For A Healthy Workplace If you were to take a survey of successful employers -- those who attract and retain good employees, enjoy a positive reputation in the business community and stay out of legal trouble, all the while producing quality goods or services -- you'd find that they share more than their success. Although these employers may differ in the types of policies they use and the way they adapt those policies to their unique workplaces, they all follow similar practical habits in dealing with their employees, practices that promote positive employee relations, reduce the number of employee problems and provide protection from lawsuits. The following are just a sampling of employer practices that will promote a healthy work environment for you and your employees. We will discuss these and others throughout this book. Communicate with your employees. Make sure they know your expectations. Tell them when they are doing well or poorly. Listen to your employees. They have valuable insight into your workplace -- and into the solutions to many employee problems. Act consistently. There's real value in applying the same standards of performance and conduct to all of your employees and avoiding favoritism. Workers quickly sour on a boss who plays favorites, bestowing plum assignments on his pets and piling thankless grunt work on those who are out of favor. Follow your own policies. After all, why should your employees follow the rules if you are willing to bend them whenever the mood strikes? Treat you employees with respect. Your workers will treat you as you treat them. And workers will literally thrive in a workplace where they feel respected and fairly treated. In addition, workers who must be disciplined, investigated or fired will take the bad news much better if they feel that you have treated them decently throughout the process. Make job-related decisions. You should always be guided by criteria related to the job and the worker's ability to do that job -- not by an employee's characteristics (race, gender or disability, for example), personal activities and or your own whims. Take action when necessary. The sooner you deal with an employee problem, the better your chance of nipping it in the bud.

 

Introduction 1. What's Your Problem? 2. Employment Law Basics 3. Performance Evaluations 4. Progressive Discipline 5. Complaints and Investigations 6. Making the Decision to Fire 7. Planning For The Aftermath 8. Severance and Releases 9. How to Fire 10. Looking Forward 11. Hiring a Lawyer Appendix - Federal Agencies Enforcing Workplace Laws - Federal Fair Employment Laws - State Laws Prohibiting Discrimination in Private Employment - State Agencies that Enforce Laws Prohibiting Discrimination in Employment - State Labor Departments - State Departments of Insurance - State OSHA Laws - State OSHA Offices Index

Offers proven techniques for creating a trouble-free workplace and offers immediate fixes for handling your problem employee of the moment.

 

Attorney Amy DelPo Attorney Amy DelPo brings more than six years of criminal and civil litigation experience to her work at Nolo, having litigated cases in all levels of state and federal courts, including the California Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. Before coming to Nolo in January 2000, Ms. DelPo specialized in employment law, handling a wide variety of disputes between employers and employees, incluging sexual harassment, discrimination and wage-and-hour issues. Her real-world experience enriches her work at Nolo, where she writes and edits numerous employment law titles, including Dealing with Problem Employees (co-author), The Employer's Legal Handbook (editor) and Your Rights in the Workplace (editor). Ms. DelPo received her law degree with Honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

 

Dealing with Problem Employees by Amy Delpo
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