Customer Reviews

Dealing With Problem Employees: A Legal Guide

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is an excellent starter for anyone who is new to running a small company, and wants a better understanding of the legal pitfalls of employment practices and some practical advice on how to avoid them. The book does a good job in covering most of the basics of employment law, and in addition provides some tips on performance management, terminations, and investigations that should work well in the majority of situations.

There are a couple of areas where the book is a little light, and therefore a business owner or leader would want more information. The section and information on sexual harassment laws is weak, considering that the most common type of sexual harassment complaint (hostile work environment) is a broad set of very gray areas of risk determined by the employee. Little coverage is given to the legal definitions of sexual harassment, including how an employer may be liable if they "should have known" the behavior was taking place. Additionally more information on how to create a positive working environment, which avoids legal risks but is still a place where people want to work, would be useful. Additionally, most business owners would like to see information on how to better connect the dots between employee behavior, legal constraints and business results.

I also recommend that any leader wishing to employ these tips and practical information in their workplace first read one of the many excellent books on leadership, or how to motivate employees, and how and why to treat people with dignity and respect. The excellent and unusual leadership book, Leadership and Self Deception, is an example of a great companion for this text. Consider this book the "what" and "how" of what to do with legal employment issues, and others to really focus on the "why".

Overall, this is an excellent resource; it is well written and planned with easy access to information. The resources provided are excellent. The authors did a commendable job and taking often complex legal information and writing it in a way non-lawyers can understand and utilize. It is what it advertises to be, a legal guide. I think this will make an excellent resource for small business owners, and plan to give my copy to a friend who runs a small non-profit and is always calling me for advise of this nature.

Dealing With Problem Employees is an excellent resource for most organizations, especially for start up companies. This fine book investigates key employment issues such as contract employees, sexual harassment, alcohol and drug abuse, developing performance appraisals, dealing with dangerous employees, interviewing, and countless legal issues. All of the above issues are discussed from a detailed point of view as numerous examples are cited illustrating the fine line between what is proper conduct and what is illegal. Very specific examples are given how to fire someone, provide fair job references, and conduct a disciplinary hearing that motivates employees to improve. The importance of having an employee handbook is emphasized greatly. The depth is so phenomenal that there is even a section on how to fire your employment lawyer when he does you wrong.

There are a few questionable sections on exit interviews. From my personal experiences, most firms blur the line between termination and exit interviews. In other words, when someone is terminated there is one meeting on the employees' last day explaining why he is being let go and all the benefits that this person is entitled to. Maybe some higher level management personnel may have some of these extended privileges. I realize that there are a few exceptions as the authors describe. However, from where I stand, most terminations due to performance consist of one meeting combining all the elements combined in the termination and exit interviews. Financial layoffs may vary.

Also the section of an employee being allowed to have representation in a termination meeting is slightly disjointed. I have never encountered such a situation for myself or anyone else. Perhaps there are a few unusual exceptions but truthfully I think the authors need to adjust their position at least a little bit.

Nonetheless, this is super book with outstanding legal references in every chapter. I can certainly overlook the two small weaknesses illustrated above as the strengths are great, numerous, and in great detail. I must emphasize that this is excellent reading for employers and even employers. Yes, employees should be aware of the many interpersonal and legal issues their employers face. In conclusion, a must have on all fronts.

This Nolo Guide is an excellent discussion in plain English of the many things that are involved when you are dealing with problem employees. In 10 chapters, the book covers all the important topics from understanding the problem, employment law basics, and handling complaints, to information on how to fire, planning for the aftermath, and hiring a lawyer if necessary.

Nolo Guides have always been a small business owner's best legal friends but they are useful to almost anyone that wants to have a better understanding of the law before consulting a lawyer (as this saves on money you would have to spend getting educated). This book is no exception and provides very valuable information and advice on how to handle difficult situations with problem employees.

One of the best sections that I found useful were in the chapter on Employement Law Basics. Over the years, working as a Manager in various companies, I had heard of Employment at Will but didn't fully understand its implications. I had signed several employment contracts with my employers without realizing what they meant. After reading this chapter, it made me realize how many of those contracts were not enforceable! And now as an employer, I understand what kinds of contracts ARE enforceable so I can protect myself!

So I believe this book is helpful whether you are an employer or an employee to get a better understanding of the law. This book is NOT meant to replace the legal advice from a lawyer but to arm you with better knowledge before you approach a lawyer. I utilize the services of a lawyer on a need basis but I always read the Nolo books on the specific topic before my meeting. As a result of that, I have saved money by asking the right questions to my lawyer and in turn my lawyer has really appreciated working with a knowledgeable client! I wish I had access to this book when I was an employee as I would have benefited tremendously (as it turns out this book was published after 2001 by which time I had already started my own business). It would have avoided a lot of heartache as I misunderstood what I had signed and thought I couldn't do certain things when in fact I could. I also missed a couple of business opportunities as a result of that.

I hope you find this book as valuable as I did. I actually have more than 30 of their books on all kinds of legal topics. I plan on buying more whenever I can afford them. I have not been disapopinted by a single book from Nolo yet. Good luck!

Lots of good information about staying legal as an employer, and it is in a format that can be used as a reference work. My mother is an office manager, and she randomly looked up some of the problems she has faced in the past. She said that the legal advice is very comprehensive and points to other references if more information is needed. She also said that the advice given was useful and realistic, and this would have helped her in facing problems in the past. I gave the book to her since she liked it so much, and she wants to keep it on hand for future reference.

This book is of the same high quality as most other Nolo books I have read. It covers the topic with a lot of breadth and depth. Written in plain terms, it is actually a pleasant read, not tedious or boring. This book covers not just how to handle a problem employee, but why. They may be having a bigger negative effect on your company than you think. DelPo and Guerin address the effects an individual employee and the way management handles that employee can have on the morale and productiveness of the whole work group. There is a great chapter on performance evaluations -- insights into what to include, what not to include, and how to approach the performance eval. There is a really super section on documenting performance, which will better enable you to correct it, or if necessary, fire the employee and be able to come out on the winning side should a lawsuit be involved. Excellent information on what to do and not do regarding employees with disabilities -- they are legally entitled to "reasonable" accomodation -- this book helps you figure out what you should do to get good performance and stay on the right side of the law. The very beginning of the book states that the legal advice doesn't necessarily apply to government workers, but lots of the help and wisdom in this book apply to any employee/employeer relationship. Highly recommended. This book will teach you how to make your workplace more productive, with greater moral, and with an improved relationship between employees and supervisors. Isn't that what you want when you're dealing with a problem employee?

Lets face it, we've all been in situations where you've screwed up at work and wondered if the boss would go berserk and send you off to the gallows or ship your head on a pike to your loved ones. That feeling of dread like a block of ice in the pit of your stomach and a blood pressure cuff around your neck. You bargain mentally with yourself, saying things like, "No, it wasn't that bad, he can't fire me for that... can he?" During the crisis you can't help but wonder, "Can I legally get fired for this?"

The bad news is... Most likely, yes; you can get fired.

Why? Because we live in a "At Will" employment country - while it is strongly suggested that for any act in which you terminate an employee you have heavy documentation to back up your decision, technically, and legally, you can fire someone for something as trivial as not liking their hat.

That being said, there are quite a few legalities surrounding reasons why you absolutely cannot fire an employee - mostly centering around discrimination laws. You can fire the person because they wore a hat, but not because the hat was blue.

And once you've fired the said employee because you didn't like their hat, does that employee have a right to sue you? Do you have a paper trail leading up to the release that states that you've told the employee that you've never liked their hat and asked them to change to a scarf instead for six review periods? Do you have a detailed improvement plan filed with HR for said employee so that they could have gently transitioned from hat to scarf in a multi-layered, gradual approach with clearly defined goals?

The world of employee relations is a tumultuous one, filled with cliffs and pitfalls. The book "Dealing With Problem Employees" does a good job at skimming over the surface and touching on some of the most common questions about the firing process. While the book does actually touch items like reviews and goal oriented improvement plans, lets be honest; if you're reading this book, you're trying to figure out all the steps that you need to take in order to fire an employee.

For the employee, this book is a great resource simply because it gives you a better idea of "Where you stand." In other words, how bad was that written evaluation you just got? Should you really be worrying about losing your job, or was your manager just speaking legalese? Does that verbal warning you just got mean that you're on the one-way street down to unemployment?

All-in-all, I believe that this book works as a better resource for the employee than the manager.

I am new to management and this book helped clarify many topics. The book is written in a down to earth style, and just jammed with valuable info. Anyone going into HR or Management would certainly benefit from reading and then using this book as a resource.

I strongly recommend this book for people planning to start-up their first business, those becoming supervisors for the first time, and those who are entering human resource positions . . . as well as those who do not know how employment law currently works.

Most problems with employees begin with incomplete or poor communications. This guide is just as good at helping with those communications as it is with understanding how the law applies to situations that arise.

As an attorney, I found the legal information to be complete and accurate (often providing summaries and references to state laws, as well as federal ones). As a management consultant, I found almost all of the advice to be pertinent and up-to-date with best practices. The only exception was that many management experts now discourage annual reviews in favor of continuous feedback (which is also encouraged by the book).

Have you ever fired anyone? It's no fun. The book's description of how events should lead up to that, and how to handle the event for all concerned is wise and helpful for anyone who is about to have to do that. Even if you have fired people before, you can probably get some good ideas in this book for how to do it better.

If you don't have a system for progressive discipline (feedback that improvement needs to be made), you can get what you need here to design and implement such a system.

This guide will also be helpful to disgruntled employees who wonder if they should seek out an attorney. The section on how to find an employment attorney is equally applicable to companies and employees.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that after going into firing, the book also takes the reader back into hiring to see how to avoid hiring people in the future who will have to be fired.

In total, this book surpassed my very high expectations. Nice job!

After you finish reading this book, think about how the principles of good communication and fairness developed in the book could be applied to working with customers and other important stakeholders as well.

Having worked in Human Resources for a number of years, I have nothing but praise for this book--it is practical, easy to follow, and quite comprehensive. I've found that it's extremely helpful for both new and experienced managers. No company or non-profit should go without this one.

I highly recommend any book in the Nolo series. I've read several of them so far and they've all been extremely helpful. Employees must often deal with other employees who act inappropriately however companies may not always be willing to take disciplinary action. This book provides some excellent guidelines on what the legal rights and responsibilities are which corporations should adhere to. Knowing this information is very helpful to understand what rights you can advocate for yourself when dealing with bad behavior at work from others that might be harming your reputation, opportunities, and your career.