Don’t forget that the new Kansas smoking law becomes effective July 1, 2010. As of that date smoking will be prohibited in most indoor public places and employment places, including within 10 feet of any doorway, open window, or air intake of a building where smoking is prohibited. 

A common message delivered to supervisors is to document, document, and document.  The importance of keeping good records cannot be said enough.  The records maintained by supervisors are critical to employers in defending claims asserted by employees.  The notes/records made at the time tell the story at a time when the facts and circumstances are all clear and unvarnished by bias or the passage of time.  Not only do these records help supervisors remember what happened at the time, they are the most accurate record of the events.  The challenge, however, is to make sure those documents are prepared in the first place.  Supervisors are busy dealing with the stress of operating the business at the same time they are managing scores of employees (all with personnel issues and concerns).  Here are some ideas to help those supervisors:

Have A System -- Supervisors with a system are always going to be more successful in this area than those who rely on chance to get the events documented.  It doesn't matter how the system operates as long as the events get documented and retained.  Your system needs to be one that works with your style of leadership and organization.  Here are a few techniques:

• Employee Folders -- Maintain a file for each employee and drop copies of all notes and/or disciplinary documents relating to the employee into the folder.  Make sure the storage location for the files is secure.
• Notebook -- Use a notebook/journal and make notes of all employee issues in the notebook.       Continue Reading...

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has revised and updated the E-Verify interface used by employers to electronically validate the employment authorization of newly hired employees.  The revisions are designed to improve the user experience with the E-Verify system by streamlining functions and simplifying terms.  For more information on the redesign of E-Verify go to http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify_redesign.

E-Verify is the online verification system designed by USCIS to permit employers to verify employment authorization materials provided by newly hired employees.  For most employers, the use of the E-Verify system is purely voluntary.  For those employers that are government contractors (or subcontractors of government contractors), the use of E-Verify may be mandatory under the terms of the specific contracts.

If you've heard me say it once, you've heard me say it a hundred times: Anybody can sue anyone for any or no reason.  Debrahlee Lorenzana is the latest to prove this point. 

Lorenzana filed a lawsuit claiming she was fired from her job at a New York bank for being too good-looking.  The lawsuit alleges that she was ordered to "[r]efrain from wearing certain items of clothing, in particular, turtleneck tops, pencil skirts, fitted business suits, or other properly tailored clothing.  In blatantly discriminatory fashion, [she] was advised that as a result of the shape of her figure, such clothes were purportedly 'too distracting' for her male colleagues and supervisors to bear."  Other female workers were allowed to wear similar clothing, she alleges, but "[t]heir general unattractiveness rendered moot their sartorial choices, unlike [hers]." 

You can read more about this unusual lawsuit at the following link: http://www.businessinsider.com/debrahlee-lorenzana-citi-2010-6