Legal Ease Utilizing Supervisors Effectively By Richard D. Alaniz, Alaniz Law & Associates I
t is often the case in far too many workplaces that one of the most underutilized assets is the floor supervisor.
In almost every workplace
setting, they are in the unique position to contribute far more than merely ensuring that production and quality goals are met. In today’s highly regulated and litigious environment, workplace situations are more apt to arise that if not timely and properly addressed, could result in costly legal entanglements for the employer.
Therefore, knowing
what workplace situations could pose potential legal issues for the employer is critical for today’s supervisors. Supervisory training programs
have been commonplace in most work settings for generations. In recent times such trainings have increasingly focused on workplace regulation. Unfortunately, all too often it has been limited to sexual harassment, and to some extent, discrimination issues. Few employers have made the effort to provide in-depth training on workplace legal issues on a regular and on-going basis.
When
properly trained, supervisors serve as an early warning system against issues and circumstances that could lead to the types of legal claims that have proliferated in recent years.
Additionally, and of
equal importance, they are the most immediate representative of company management in daily contact with the workforce.
for the employer.
They serve as a surrogate In the eyes of many
employees, they are the employer. Legal Safeguard
Most people regularly involved in employment matters recognize that today’s workplace is the most regulated place in our society.
That is so
because the federal government, state government, and increasingly, even local government, can and do regulate what occurs in the workplace.
64 ❘ August 2023 ® Every
aspect of the employment relationship, including hiring practices, wages paid, and hours worked, promotions, termination, disciplinary rules, leave issues, as well as the developing gender identity and transgender rights issues, and so many other subjects come within the scope of governmental regulation. More importantly, these regulations all mandate or prohibit specific action by the employer, including in many cases strict deadlines within which action must be taken.
these numerous requirements can result in significant legal liability.
Supervisors stand at the
intersection where employee matters and government regulation come together.
When issues arise involving
workers, the supervisor is almost always the first representative of management to become aware of the situation.
If
a supervisor is not fully aware of the potential legal significance of certain workplace events, the opportunity to promptly and properly address the matter, and thus avoid further complications, and perhaps legal liability, will be lost. For example, the matter could involve something as routine as employee leave to attend to some family or personal illness. Under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which applies to employers with 50 or more employees, there is a strict deadline of five days within which notice to the employee must be provided regarding whether the circumstances qualify for leave.
Failure to provide the required
notice within the five-day period could seriously impact the employer’s ability to enforce its leave policies. An employee is not required to use any specific term in requesting FMLA leave. It is therefore possible that a supervisor might not recognize the significance of a conversation with the employee, thus resulting in a failure to consider it
Failure to adhere to
a request for leave. This would lead to failure to provide the mandatory notice. Numerous states have adopted family leave laws similar to the FMLA, with similar employee notice requirements in most cases. The consequences for failure to give notice may vary from state to state, but they can be significant. The FMLA notice requirement is merely one minor example of the wide range of potential workplace situations that could possibly lead to legal liability. Others, some of which could involve much more serious legal exposure if not recognized and promptly addressed, make companies supervisory training imperative.
Regulating the one place
where people spend the majority of their time, the workplace, is seen as necessary to prevent employer overreach.
As a
consequence, workplace regulatory measures have continuously grown. Thus, the more informed supervisors are regarding what circumstances can create legal liability for workplace matters, the more successful a company will be in safely navigating its way through the regulatory minefield.
Creation of Goodwill
It is fairly evident that notwithstanding the importance of competitive pay and fringe benefits, the primary reasons for
employee job satisfaction and
for remaining in a job relate to how employees are treated by management, especially their supervisor. Employees quit bosses not companies. In one recent employee survey, about half of
the employees interviewed said
that they had quit a job because of a bad manager or supervisor.
Most
employees agree that while money is an important factor in job satisfaction, of greater concern is having an employer that genuinely cares about them and what they think.
Feeling valued and appreciated is a critical need of most
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