Posted on July 30, 2008 by Rush Nigut

Huge Verdicts in Employment Cases

Washington employment lawyer Donald Heyrich details some recent huge verdicts against employers.  The verdicts in his report range all the way up to a whopping $47 million.

Looking to avoid big verdicts?  I say treat employees with RESPECT and keep in mind the Golden Rule of Employee Relations:  Fairness.  Unfortunately too many employers forget these basic rules.

It is critical to remember that in a jury trial your jurors are likely to be employees rather than employers.  Being fair will not only reduce the employment claims against you but increase your chances of success if you are sued.

photo on flickr by benleto

 

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Posted on February 13, 2008 by Rush Nigut

.300 Won't Get You Into the Employment Law Hall of Fame

A .300 batting average may get you into Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame but winning only 30 percent of your employment lawsuits won't do the trick.

See Mark Toth's Manpower blog for the results of the Question of the Week - What % of employment lawsuits are won by employers?  That's right, only 30 percent.

But fortunately there are things an employer can do to increase their chances to win and/or avoid lawsuits.  Jon Hyman offers several suggestions for the proactive employer:

  1. Review and update handbooks, policy manuals and forms;
  2. Implement a document retention and destruction policy;
  3. Implement a harassment training program;
  4. Audit job descriptions and employee classification for wage and hour compliance;
  5. Properly document all performance problems.

photo on flickr by ewen and donabel

 

 

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