As Dirty Harry stated in Magnum Force, "a man has got to know his limitations." In this internet age, there is a great deal of information available on a seemingly endless number of subjects by a variety of people of varying qualifications. When it comes to employment law, my area of expertise, I see individuals attempt to represent themselves in serious matters in the misguided belief that googling a couple articles about sexual harassment makes her a subject matter expert and on par with a highly trained and experienced employment lawyer. Those cases invariably do not end well for these misguided plaintiffs. Companies need to recognize when they need legal advice as well unless HR or the CEO are going to defend your next wrongful discharge case. 

If you are having employment problems, promptly seek the advice of a qualified lawyer.  In other areas, seek out advice and help from qualified subject matter experts.  I am not going to have my tonsils taken out by an assistant manager at the hardware store who watched a couple you tube videos on the subject.  Changing your own door locks and litigating your own case are vastly different things. If you believe otherwise, don't say Dirty Harry didn't warn you. www.employmentlawman.com/monday-morning-musings.html

The beginning of the year is supposed to be New Year's resolution time. Setting aside my opinion that  resolutions, which are nothing more than another name for "goals," should be made on a daily basis throughout the year, let's talk about the ultimate resolution or goal.  Be kind and a person who adds value.

Be a person of high quality who consistently adds value at work, at home, wherever. In the employment context, be a decent employer who pays a fair wage for a reasonable amount of work and time, while realizing the employee also has a personal life with all that entails.  As an employee, be a person of value to the organization, someone who can be counted on to advance the task at hand in a meaningful way.  

Be kind to each other, it really isn't as difficult as so many make it seem. Recognize and respect the differences in each other. Remember there is often a difference between fact and opinion and that we can still disagree on things agreeably and professionally without compromising our integrity. Nobody likes losing but nobody wins them all, so be a gracious loser and live to fight another day. You don't always have to be right at any cost.  Cheers to another year, better than last year if we so choose.  http://www.employmentlawman.com/monday-morning-musings.html  


     

Most companies have certain zero-tolerance policies, most notably zero-tolerance workplace violence policies. What does this mean in practice, though? Some employers think, no matter the circumstances, any threat or confrontation by any employee under any circumstances should be terminable, no further thought or effort required. Does that make sense?

First, if some threat or violent conduct is alleged to have occurred, the employer should promptly and thoroughly investigate the matter to determine what, if anything, actually happened. As with any other type of allegation, people lie at times, for all kinds of reasons. Joe wants to get Sally fired for spurning him or giving him a bad evaluation, maybe he just likes causing trouble, who knows? The parties may need to be separated while the investigation is going on, the police may even need to be involved. Suppose an actual physical confrontation occurred. Questions like, who started it, was the other person acting in self-defense given the circumstances, was retreat or some other action possible, viable and more reasonable, what do the witnesses know, is there video of the incident, etc. Things to look at and consider.

Thus, zero tolerance requires more than "you're both fired, no matter the facts." As with all else in human endeavors, the facts are everything and there can be gray areas. Sometimes the situation is crystal clear, but often you get thrown a curveball in life and work. Use your brain, common sense and some elbow grease. Of course, also get legal advice because there's no playbook for every situation.  http://www.employmentlawman.com/monday-morning-musings.html

As I reach one of those age "milestones," I feel more than usually reflective about what that means, here in terms of work. Those who say, "I haven't changed in twenty years" are either lying to themselves or haven't thought or done much growing through time. Yes, we are different than we were at the start of our careers.  We know more about everything, from job skills to interpersonal skills. We should be working much smarter now than ever before, be more certain and clear what we need and expect from others, perhaps care a bit less about what others think. We have to be cognizant of inevitable physical changes as well, take good care of ourselves, nurture body and mind.

In the workplace, employers need to value their experienced workers, treat and pay them accordingly.  There is no substitute for hard-earned experience in the trenches. Not every job or project needs that, which is good for the newbies, but experienced workers are essential to every company. Utilize this knowledge in mentoring programs and apprenticeships too.  If you get to a point your skills are slipping, you're bored, whatever, do something new.  Change jobs, go back to school, learn a new skill, do something that keeps you energized. Life moves quickly, so utilize well your most precious non-renewable resource, which is time.  http://www.employmentlawman.com/monday-morning-musings.html

 

The lynchpin of a discrimination case involves proving different treatment of an employee as compared to one or more others outside the legally protected group. As an example, imagine an allegation by a female that "Jim and John had lower quality work than me but were not fired while I was."  Different rules for different employees spells trouble and can at least appear to be (and sometimes actually is) illegal discrimination.

Simply stated, make sure your policies and practices are applied equally to everybody in the workplace. Suddenly requiring a pre-employment physical for an employee when you don't normally require pre-employment physicals for anyone else has the potential to be problematic for that employer. Requiring Sally to notify her boss of absences at least 24 hours in advance per written policy while allowing Hector and Jim to notify within only an hour may get you in trouble despite that there is otherwise nothing wrong with the written policy itself. The problem is with the differential application of the policy. 

Sometimes exceptions to rules are made but, when they are, be ready to explain and defend them with truthful, nondiscriminatory reasons.  If you fire Jim for failing the drug test but you didn't fire Mark, who also happens to be much younger than Jim, you may be headed for trouble in an age discrimination case.  If the real reason for the different treatment is that Mark had an otherwise unblemished record for ten years but Jim failed his drug test after 90 days of spotty employment and that's why the exception was made, you might win the discrimination case if the jury believes you but the question of discrimination can arise whenever such exceptions to rules are made. Sometimes there are so many exceptions to the rule, the rule is swallowed up entirely and meaningless.  Then also change your rule to reflect your actual practice.  

One of the first questions I ask an employer when they ask whether they should or should not do something is "what is your policy and what exceptions have you made before and why."  Sometimes the policy itself may be illegal but that's a different topic.  Otherwise, be consistently consistent in the application and enforcement of your workplace rules and policies or be well-prepared to defend why you made the exceptions.  http://www.employmentlawman.com/monday-morning-musings.html

 How many people currently in the workforce are really engaged versus just waiting for quitting time or their next favorite part of the day, lunchtime?  Research shows a large percentage of the workforce is disengaged and unhappy.  What is the problem and is there a solution?

The truth of the matter is that many jobs are boring, routine, and not any fun, not just low-level jobs. Sometimes I think some people have unrealistic expectations about work. They think their job's purpose is to fulfill all their needs. Many jobs barely fulfill or even fail to fulfill the basic need of folks to simply earn a halfway decent living.  I have yet to hear of an employer who expressed a concern whether a given position was exceeding an employee's expectations.  The employer has a need and the employee is hired to fill that need.  That's not to say there aren't satisfying jobs or at least moments of satisfaction, but simply that a job isn't there to fulfill all the employee's wants and desires. Some acceptance of this may go a ways toward feeling more fulfilled because one's expectations are then rooted in reality, not fantasy. 

As employers, you can at least provide a safe work environment of decency, respect, challenge, opportunity, and appreciation.  If you don't think that's the right thing to do in itself, understand high turnover and other problems will result from a contrary approach. Reward your excellent employees for their work, try to improve and encourage the performance of the less excellent but still good employees and winnow out the rest.  Employers also need to understand that employees have many needs that don't encompass only working for them as their entire reason for being. Both sides can do better but expectations must be real. My belief is true happiness comes from a variety of sources in life that together create a satisfying tapestry. http://www.employmentlawman.com/monday-morning-musings.html 

There have been many changes in employment law in Kansas recently. Kansas has never been a bastion of employee rights, being among the most conservative in the nation in this regard. However you feel about this, there's no denying it.  What is often forgotten is that almost all of us in the workforce are employees, not employers.  The only true employers are business owners.  You may be a high-level manager but you're still an employee if you don't own the company.  I do own my business but still am alarmed at some of the changes in Kansas.

Just recently, teachers in Kansas lost their statutory rights to due process hearings following terminations, a right in place since the 1950's. State civil service employees can now be easily declassified and new hires not have any civil service protections, a significant loss of rights previously held for decades here. The workers compensation laws have been changed making it more difficult for employees to get even minimal benefits in certain instances, the length of time employees can collect unemployment benefits has been shortened pursuant to a new formula based on the unemployment rate, eligibility for same has been made more difficult as well, changes to the Wage Payment Act were made and the Kansas Human Rights Commission has operated under a hiring freeze for a significant amount of time.

These changes clearly illustrate a certain philosophy at work here. It is a matter of opinion whether that is good or bad, but remember most of you are employees and sometimes bad things happen to good employees at work and there may now be less you can do about it, if anything, depending on the facts of your situation. http://www.employmentlawman.com/monday-morning-musings.html        

     

Sometimes we all wonder if we are being heard, noticed or have any impact at work, in our social media postings or at large. This raises the question of feedback. Although LinkedIn is not noted for large-scale commenting or even liking of posts compared to Facebook and other social media, it is nice to get some. Luckily for me, I have had people kind enough to like, comment or at least view my posts here, but there have been times I have wondered whether posting original material that takes some time to write really matters to anyone or has any impact. I enjoy writing, so that is some reward in itself. I admit that I have read many posts here I enjoyed but didn't comment or like on the post because that seems to be the norm on LinkedIn for whatever reason, read and move on. None of us should expect constant feedback but everyone needs some feedback now and then. If one person gets something out of a post, that is still impact but it's nice to know if that happened. 

This raises the larger question of communication and feedback at work.  We have all had a boss whose philosophy is "unless you hear from me, you're doing fine." False praise is not good either. If we want to improve at work, we must know what we are doing well and what we need to improve on. Accurate and timely feedback is the one area in which many managers fall short. It is difficult for some to be constructively critical as well as to praise excellent performance. A successful leader knows how to do both. Let us strive to do better in our own communication at work, at home, everywhere. You don't have to be the Pope, the President, or a famous person to have deep impact. You just might be surprised how seemingly small things make a difference to somebody. A friendly hello and a smile can make a big difference in a person's day.  We're all in this thing together after all.  http://www.employmentlawman.com/monday-morning-musings.html         

Most of us recognize that those little extra steps and efforts make all the difference.  That last proofread before the email goes out, a follow-up call to a client to make sure they were satisfied and their needs  met, that extra push to get the product out the door on time or, better yet, ahead of schedule.  We know it's important but sometimes fall short for any of a variety of reasons, just excuses really.  

The true professionals get the job done well every time by requiring more of themselves than their average peer.  Anyone can do it but comparatively few go the extra mile consistently.  Sometimes that extra mile doesn't take but a few minutes longer.  "It's good enough" versus "I gave it everything."  The difference is noticeable to others.  Even just taking a moment to thank a co-worker for staying a little late to help you out, again a little detail but a really big deal in truth.  

Consistency is important as well.  Being superlative occasionally doesn't get it done in the larger picture.   Work is more a marathon than a sprint really, although sprinting is sometimes required for sure.  "What would I appreciate as a customer" is a good mindset to have when trying to decide how to fulfill your customers' needs.  No one is perfect but we can always strive for greater excellence the next time out.  It all comes down to what we choose to demand of ourselves.  http://www.employmentlawman.com/monday-morning-musings.html 

We have to be brutally honest with ourselves individually and at an organizational level if we want to improve our skills and be better.  We all know that person who, when confronted with a task or training opportunity, proudly quips "I know all that already."  No one on the face of the earth knows everything.  "I'm just being confident."  Confidence is nice but false confidence is deadly.  Those people are only fooling themselves and robbing themselves of the opportunity to learn, improve and be better.  What's the point of paying attention to the trainer or working hard on the task if you erroneously think you are a master.  Watch an early episode of American Idol to see people who think they can sing, yet have no talent whatsoever.  

I have worked with individuals who receive the same type of criticism from multiple managers or even multiple employers, yet conclude it is unfairness or some other external factor at work.  Consistent critical feedback should tell you something about yourself.  A brutal frank assessment is necessary.  If your speaking skills aren't as good as your writing skills, own it and work hard to improve.  If you are not good at time management, work on it, don't blame your boss for expecting you to be able to handle many tasks in the course of a day.  If you are a bad marketer of yourself, own it and take steps.  Build a website, network more, realize and discuss freely what you bring to the table.

Companies must also accurately assess themselves.  Maybe your company is not the beacon of customer service you wish or hope it was.  Be honest, make some changes.  Select and train your service representatives better.  Make a product worth believing in and stand by it.  Constantly assess yourself and your organization.  Take those critiques in your appraisal to heart, ask your manager how to get better, get the proper training.  An honest significant other can provide helpful insight too.  "You're fabulous honey, don't change a thing" isn't really going to help you be better.  Hopefully, you have at least one person in
your life who will give you honest feedback, even if it is only "your shirt doesn't match your pants."  That's something.  But, we all need to be truly honest with ourselves first.  It may be impossible to be objective but successful people know where their weak points and strong points are, exploit their strengths and work on their weaknesses.  Being honest opens up the pathway to success.  http://www.employmentlawman.com/monday-morning-musings.html