Untangling an Employee’s Web of Deception

HR Stories From The Front Lines*

What may seem like an employee’s far-fetched conspiracy theory that a manager is out to sabotage the employee is not a conspiracy theory at all. This is what happened when a hotel manager prompted a guest
to give a negative review about one employee’s performance.*


Read on (Opens in a new window)
to learn about how one HR Director uncovered and dealt with the manager’s deception.

(*These incidents really happened; but names and other details have been changed.)

Brain Teaser

Your employee is an opiate addict and has been since you hired him (so much for your pre-employment screening and interview process!). His name is Oscar the Opiate Addict. He’s your in-house IT network
administrator. Unbeknownst to you, Oscar the Opiate Addict has participated in a physician-supervised, medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for the addiction since 2015. Last month, Oscar the Opiate Addict
took two weeks of his vacation time and voluntarily admitted himself to an inpatient treatment facility to eliminate the need for MAT. He successfully completed the inpatient treatment and returned to
work.



Upon his return to work, you learned that Oscar the Opiate Addict spent his vacation in a treatment program for Opiate addiction. Your understanding of the Americans with Disabilities Act is that a “recovered”
addict is no longer “disabled” under federal law nor under the law of your state. After discussing with senior management, everyone agrees: it is too risky to have an Opiate addict (even if “recovered”)
serving as the IT network administrator. After all, IT systems are the backbone of the company. Since he is no longer “disabled”, you terminate Oscar. All employees (including Oscar) are “at will”, of
course, and it says so in your employee handbook. Choose the best answer.

Even small-town businesses face big city problems. Such is the case for Paperco. Tom has worked for them for three years without any issues – no verbal warnings, write-ups, or performance concerns. He’s been a model employee, but that’s all about to change.*

Read on (Opens in a new window) to learn why you should never skip the investigation process.

(*These incidents really happened; but names and other details have been changed.)

What Type(s) of Leave Apply?

 

Managing leaves can be complex, especially when multiple leave laws may apply to a situation.

You have an employee that twists her ankle on the job:

Your employee has worked for you for two years as a server. She has worked a total of 1485 hours in the last year. You have 35 employees at one location and 25 miles away you have 40 employees at another location. She is pregnant and is planning to take time off to bond with her baby. She just slipped in the kitchen and twisted her ankle. She needs to be off of her feet for 6 weeks for her ankle to heal.

How do you handle this time off?

Most workplaces have dress codes that employees must follow, and, on occasion, you’ve probably had to discuss appropriate work attire. But what would you do if your employee showed up wearing
a cloak and informed you it was for a religious accommodation? That’s exactly what happened to HR Director Riley.*Read on (Opens in a new window) to see how she handled the situation gracefully.

(*These incidents really happened; but names and other details have been changed.)

You run a 24 hour/7 day a week manufacturing operation. On the application form, you ask applicants for their availability throughout the week. On his application, Kevin stated he can work any time, any day of the week. Once hired, he lets you know he cannot work on Saturdays for religious reasons. Company policy states all employees will be rotated to work weekends and no accommodations will be made for any reason. While you can probably accommodate Kevin’s request, you fear others will complain the accommodation is unfair and employee morale will be affected.

How should you handle this issue?

Most people have good intentions, especially when accommodating the needs of a pregnant employee. Unfortunately, making recommendations for pregnancy leave without being asked for them can get you in hot water.*

Read on (Opens in a new window) to learn how one employer mishandled this delicate situation and how you can avoid doing the same.

(*These incidents really happened; but names and other details have been changed.)

Every company has one, a difficult employee to deal with. They are late, insubordinate, poor performers and, well…just bad! To add insult to injury, you attempt to discipline this employee by writing her up. During your discussion, the employee exclaims, “I’m not signing that, it’s not true and I don’t agree with it!”

How should you handle this issue?

Many employees moonlight to make ends meet, which is permissible as long as their other job doesn’t interfere with the workplace. What would you do if you learned that an employee’s second job caused one of your managers to engage in questionable off-duty behavior?*

Read ahead (Opens in a new window) to learn how one HR Manager handled this unique situation.

(*These incidents really happened; but names and other details have been changed.)

You are interviewing for an all-night cashier/manager position at your convenience store. The candidate you are about to interview seems like a perfect fit for the job. She has managed other convenience stores and has no problem working the graveyard shift.

When this candidate comes in, you are quickly disappointed. You are not quite sure, but it appears she may be a few months pregnant. You are worried about her safety and the safety of her baby if she is pregnant. You want to make sure she’s able to do the job. In addition, it has been really hard to find someone to fill this position. Having her leave for a few weeks, after being newly hired would be a hardship on your business.

How should you handle this issue?

Read more (Opens in a new window)

(*These incidents really happened; but names and other details have been changed.)

You know deductions to an exempt employee’s salary are limited under federal and sometimes state law. You have an exempt employee who quit in the middle of a workweek. The employee states you must pay her for the entire week.

How should you handle this issue?

Read more (Opens in a new window)

(*These incidents really happened; but names and other details have been changed.)

Managing leaves can be complex, especially when multiple leave laws may apply to a situation.

You are the owner of two restaurants that are approximately 40 miles apart. You employ 35 employees at one location and 25 employees at the second location.

Sally has worked for your company for two years as a server. In the past 12 months, Sally has worked a total of 1485 hours.

Yesterday, Sally slipped in the kitchen and twisted her ankle. According to her doctor, she needs to be off of her feet for 6 weeks for her ankle to heal.

To further complicate matters, Sally is 6 months pregnant and is planning to take time off after the baby is born for post-partum recovery and baby bonding.

How do you handle Sally’s leave of absence request?

The leave of absence should be categorized as:

(*These incidents really happened; but names and other details have been changed.)

Consider the following situation: You hired Roberta in September. She seemed fine during the interview…just a little nervous. She was the best candidate interviewed, so you extended her an offer of employment.

After she was hired, you discovered that Roberta is a slow learner (and you suspect that she might have a learning disability). She also has a difficult time receiving criticism.

Now, four months into her employment, Roberta has been having what appear to be panic attacks. You have moved her to several different positions. Unfortunately, her panic attacks have continued and hinder her ability to interact with the public, which is an essential function of her job.

While you’re always willing to give an employee a chance, you really don’t think Roberta is going to improve. You would like to terminate her; after all, she’s an at-will employee.

Is termination the best option?

Our HR Professionals provide support for thousands of terminations throughout the year, most of which involve typical “run-of-the-mill” offenses. Surprisingly, there are always a handful of cases where the employee’s conduct shocks us, and we’re left wondering how someone could actually act that way at work. Click here to read about the top five shockers from 2018..*

Read more (Opens in a new window)

(*These incidents really happened; but names and other details have been changed.)

Henry has worked for your company for over a decade and, until recently, has been a good performer. However, over the past six months, Henry’s performance has started to slide.

You have talked to Henry about your observations with his performance on several occasions, but you did not document any of these conversations. During your conversations, Henry admitted that his performance has slipped and that he has been making several mistakes. Each time, Henry promises he will improve, but he hasn’t shown any improvement.

Last week, Henry asked for a few days off to attend a convention for his church. While he was out, you discovered he had failed to complete a project by the deadline, negatively impacting a customer.

Based on his decline in performance and the recently discovered error, you decide to terminate Henry.

Yesterday, you were shocked when you received a charge from the EEOC claiming discrimination based on religion. You didn’t fire Henry because of his religion. Henry was fired because he wasn’t doing his job.

You tried to explain that to the EEOC. Likely, the EEOC responded:

1. They completely understood. Once you explained the course of events, they could understand why Henry needed to be terminated and dismissed the charge.
2. They asked you and Henry’s supervisor a lot of questions. It seemed like they were looking for ways that you’d discriminated against him. Making implications that you didn’t feel were accurate. You didn’t feel it went well and you don’t know what will happen next.
3. They asked to see documentation of Henry’s performance problems. They wanted to see the evidence that you’d talked to him about his poor performance. They asked if Henry was disciplined for his poor performance, in writing. They asked a lot of questions about his absence and why you terminated Henry immediately following his return to work. In the end, the EEOC concluded you had discriminated against Henry and his termination was retaliation for taking time off to attend a church conference.

View the answer (Opens in a new window).