Human Resource Blog

When it comes to establish English-only policies, the rules vary based on the type of business that you have and the kind of interaction that your employees will have with customers. According to Title VII, in many cases, when you have an English-only rule, the rule is considered to be discriminatory against individuals from another national origin. For this reason, it is important to examine your English-only rules carefully before you make them a company policy. If you are very concerned, it might also be a good idea to check in with an attorney.

Here are the general guidelines when it comes to establishing an English-only rule, according to Title VII policies against national origin discrimination:

A company may be able to justify having an English-only rule if the rule is needed so that the business can be safe and efficient. In your case, it certainly sounds like it might be more efficient and effective for your employees to be able to communicate with your customers in at least some English. Here are some common examples of where this exception to Title VII might be applicable:

• In your case, where the employees need to speak with customers, you could most likely impose an English-only rule that would hold up in court.
• If your workplace often has cooperative assignments where group work plays a key role in meeting goals, then you can establish an English-only rule if English is the only language that some of those employees speak. For example, if you have a team of cleaners that go into a workplace to work together, you might want to establish that all workers should be able to speak some English in order to effectively communicate.
• If you have a supervisor that only speaks English, then you will likely want to hire subordinates that speak at least some English. In your case, if you have an English-speaking supervisor that oversees all of the cleaning in your company, then you would want to be sure that the subordinates that work under him can communicate effectively with him by speaking English.  CB

First, you need to learn about the Drug-Free Workplace Act (DFWA), if you do not already know about it. The DFWA is a federal act and requires that federal agency contractors certify that their businesses are maintaining a drug-free workplace. The Act does not provide provisions for mandating or even authorizing drug testing of employees, but it does require that contractors and employers that are covered by the Act report any drug-related criminal convictions directly to the contracting or grant agency within ten days after an employer learns that an employee has been convicted.

The DFWA is only applicable to those entities that receive government contracts that are $25,000 or more per contract. In order to ensure that your workplace is drug-free and compliant with the DFWA, you are required to do the following:

1. You must publish a policy statement for your employees that notifies them of the prohibition against the illegal manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession, and use of any controlled substances while in the workplace. This statement should also outline the actions that will be taken against the employees that violate the policies.
2. You need to give a copy of this policy to all of your employees.
3. You need to make sure that your company has a continuing drug-free awareness program that is designed to inform your employees of the dangers involved with using drugs. This program should also outline the drug-free workplace policy and explain any penalties that might be involved with a violation of the policy.
4. You will need to inform all of your employees that compliance with the drug-free workplace policy is a requirement of their employment. Your employees should also be aware that they are required to notify you (the employer) within five days of any conviction or violation of the drug-free policy.
5. You need to notify your contracting agency within ten days if an employee has been convicted of a criminal drug offense that occurred in the workplace.
6. If you have an employee that is convicted of a workplace violation of any criminal drug statute, you need to discipline the employee within 30 days of receiving the notice of the conviction.
7. You always need to make an on-going and good-faith effort to keep the workplace drug-free.

CB

Yes. It is important that you follow up and show initiative not only for legal reasons, but also so that your employees know that you care about the things that affect them on a daily basis. When you show initiative in rectifying a potentially dangerous and unfriendly situation, it shows your employees that you truly care about them and think it’s important that they have a safe and healthy work environment and are treated fairly.

Also, keep in mind that legally, if your employee did not file a formal complaint, but told a supervisor, then the company has an obligation to follow up. However, you may not be so burdened if the employee had only told other employees about the situation. However, supervisors are in a position of power and authority to see that their employees are taken care of, so it’s their job to report any problems.

Make sure that when you investigate, you speak first with the employee in question. Don’t jump to conclusions based on the accounts that other employees have given to you about a situation. The only person that can tell you formally that something has been bothering her is that particular employee.

Next, once you have established the events with the employee that feels discriminated against, it’s important to speak promptly with the supervisor that has been doing the alleged discrimination. Perhaps something has happened that was a miscommunication or a sheer misconception. Keep in mind that its on your hands to determine what happened and how to discipline the supervisor, if discipline becomes necessary.

Be prompt, fair, and objective when determining the course of events and what should happen next. Miscommunications or misconceptions could lead to a lot of trouble if you are not careful to sort it out in advance. Often, these issues can be resolved with a simple conversation and shared understanding of a situation.

Drug-free workplace policies are meant to stop the use of illegal drugs in the workplace. Your policy wasn’t meant to penalize the diabetic employee who has to use insulin on the job. Your goal is not to fire the employee who comes to work under the influence of the blood-pressure medication he must take. You are not supposed to be stopping a worker from taking her birth control pills in her cubicle or in the lunchroom.

What do all these situations have in common? Every one of these workers has a legitimate medical reason for taking the drugs they do.

Drug Free policies are designed to stop the abuse of legal prescription drugs, like Oxycontin and amphetamine. And, to prevent the use of illegal drugs like cocaine, marijuana, and heroin.

Your worker, on the other hand, is taking medication to control her pain or to ease the inflammation. So the bottom line is, the drug-free workplace is meant to prohibit the abuse of legal drugs or the use of illegal drugs at work. It’s as simple as that.

The goal is a policy that is fair, clear, and enforced the same way for everyone. The goal is not to penalize somebody for taking aspirin to relieve the pain of a headache.

Is firing an employee whom you’ve described as one of your best, a fair use of the policy? No. 

You could request that the employee bring a note from her doctor requiring that she take her medications. If you do, however, fairness requires you ask other employees to do the same.

If you find out about an employee’s medical, HIPAA protects her confidentiality. You cannot tell anyone else about her condition.

And remember that if you did fire employees for taking drugs they have a valid medical reason to take, you could be sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the ADA.

Of course. And the progressive discipline policies are not governed by any state or federal laws, so your policy will be the same in the court system whether you are in Mississippi or California.

First, it’s important that you are actually defining your policy. Many companies fail to outline and detail what the policy means. When there is no clear written communications, employees can become confused and simply not understand what it means to have a progressive discipline policy in the company. Be sure that all employees get this information when they are hired, and then on an annual basis.

Make sure that the plan is flexible enough so that you can always step in to determine the level of discipline for an employee. You may also decide to terminate an employee and let your team know that it is entirely your right  to do so. You may want to include a list of infractions here, but make it clear that it is simply a representative list and not a complete one.

You should always be consistent with the policies and disciplines. If you step in for one case, employees might wonder why you don’t step in for another. Make sure that all employees that have not adhered to the policy in the same way are treated the same way. Communicate with your team about why you are stepping in for one case and not another, if the situation should arise.

Make sure that you are diligent about following your policy. It’s important that you adhere to the policy that is written on paper. When you deviate from this policy, the courts may not look favorably on the deviation. As such, be sure that you follow through as promised.

Finally, it’s important that you are realistic in the way that you handle the situations. You must closely monitor each situation in order to ensure that you employees are also not showing favoritism and that each situation is handled fairly and objectively.