Stealing Confidential Information, Quirky Question # 78

Stealing Confidential Information, Quirky Question # 78

Quirky Question # 78: I am the HR Director at our company.  I just learned that one of our most valuable employees has resigned and taken a position with a competitor.  I requested our IT Department to make an evaluation of his computer.  They reported to me that before he left, he emailed to himself and his new employer customer...

Discrimination Based on Inter-Racial Marriage, Quirky Question # 77

Discrimination Based on Inter-Racial Marriage, Quirky Question # 77

Quirky Question # 77: One of our employees, who is Caucasian, recently complained that his manager has been treating him unfairly in a variety of ways.  He claims that his manager is discriminating against him because he is married to an African American woman.  Putting aside the issue of whether the manager actually is treating him unfairly, does Title VII...

Downsizing and Foreign Nationals, Quirky Question # 76

Downsizing and Foreign Nationals, Quirky Question # 76

Quirky Question # 76: I read with interest your analysis of alternatives to layoffs [Quirky Question # 71].  We have a slightly different issue.  Like many companies, we are facing the difficult prospect of downsizing staff.  We are a small technology company with operations in the US and an office abroad.  Among our professional staff are a number of foreign...

California Oddities, Quirky Question # 75

California Oddities, Quirky Question # 75

Quirky Question # 75: We are a California employer and were just hit with a lawsuit by a former employee for acts that supposedly took place almost three years ago.  Our former employee alleges that in January 2006, his supervisor asked him to fire three Asian-Americans who work in an otherwise all Caucasian department.  The former employee alleges that he...

Sarbanes-Oxley, Quirky Question # 74

Sarbanes-Oxley, Quirky Question # 74

Quirky Question # 74: We have been having some performance issues with one of our mid-level marketing managers.  In October, we placed him on a performance improvement plan.  He has not been meeting the expectations established by the plan.  We are scheduled to meet with him about his performance again next week, and it is very likely that we will...

Offensive Music Lyrics as Title VII Violation, Quirky Question # 73

Offensive Music Lyrics as Title VII Violation, Quirky Question # 73

Quirky Question # 73: We have a work environment where employees have cubicles that are approximately shoulder height.  Some employees have radios or CD players in their cubicles.  We generally don’t interfere with their musical selections, recognizing that people have different musical tastes.  (We do ask our employees to keep the volume down so they don’t bother their co-workers.)  We...

Using Internet for Background Check, Quirky Question # 72

Using Internet for Background Check, Quirky Question # 72

Quirky Question # 72: I am the HR Manager for a Minnesota-based defense contractor.  A few weeks ago, I received a general e-mail inquiry regarding employment opportunities with our company, along with an attached resume, from a person I will call Joe Hunter.  Normally, I would simply delete such an e-mail, as my company does not accept or respond to...

Downsizing Alternatives? Quirky Question # 71

Downsizing Alternatives? Quirky Question # 71

Quirky Question # 71: The country is in a recession.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that U.S. employers reduced the size of their workforces by more than 500,000 employees in November alone, with an eleven-month total of more than 1.5 million. Like every company, we’re considering whether to reduce the size of our workforce sometime during 2009, assuming the...

Joint Employer Liability, Quirky Question # 70

Joint Employer Liability, Quirky Question # 70

Quirky Question # 70: Our company frequently hires workers through employment placement agencies – some on a temporary basis, others for more long-term assignments.  The placement company pays them and withholds employment taxes on their behalf.  We sign contacts saying that the workers are independent contractors and we are not their employer.  We recently terminated one of the workers who...