Here is the latest issue of “This & That” Tuesday. I hope you find it to be informative and useful.

 

Announcements

You can always check out my website for upcoming speaking engagements that are guaranteed to be of value to business owners or for a list of topics that I can speak on at Chambers, Clubs, Business Associations, etc. More details about the events, topics and Human Resources 4U, in general, can be found on my website.

Full Day Workshop on January 16: Start the new year on the right “employment law” foot! Click on HR4U 101 Workshop for more details. Now eligible for 8 hours of HRCI credit.

 

January 18, “Affordable Care Act Overview" sponsored by the Institute of Management Accountants

 

January 31, “How to Build a Hiring System for Consistent Performance” sponsored by Capstone Pacific Investment Strategies

 

February 11, “Leave Me Alone! An Overview of Leave Laws in California” workshop sponsored by Industry Manufacturers Council

 

Worker with Panic Attacks Wins $21M Discrimination Verdict

A worker who was fired for her panic attacks won a $21.7 million jury verdict against her employer, including $16.5 million in punitive damages for the employer’s malice.

 

April Rodriguez was a customer service rep for waste disposal company Valley Vista Services. The 34-year-old mother of four asked for time off and work accommodations to deal with her panic attacks. Instead, she was fired.

 

She sued her employer and its parent company, Zerep Management Corp., claiming her firing was illegal and discriminated against her mental illness.

 

Rodriguez testified that her supervisor was skeptical of her condition and suggested that she was faking her panic attacks in order to get more time off. She said losing her job was a severe financial hardship that forced her to send two of her children to live with her brother.

 

The employer argued that she was fired for not calling in to explain why she did not come to work for more than three days. They said they asked Rodriguez then-husband, Henry, who also worked for the company, to tell her to call in.

 

Rodriguez claimed she did try to reach someone and that she was having a panic attack just before she was fired and was trying to make an appointment with a psychiatrist.

After the jury awarded her $5.2 million in compensatory damages and $16.5 million to punish the company for acting with malice, Rodriguez said she hopes her case puts a spotlight on panic attacks as a genuine mental illness.

 

Former National Guard employee gets $231K payout for sexual harassment

The National Guard must pay a former employee more than $231,000 after failing to adequately investigate her complaint of repeated sexual harassment, an administrative judge has ruled.

The amount of the award to Vikki Rouleau is “extraordinarily high” for a case involving a federal worker, said her attorney, Josh Bowers, in an interview Friday.

 

Rouleau had been a GS-9 technician with the District of Columbia National Guard stationed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. She resigned in November 2010 following a co-worker’s “numerous unwanted advances” that included slapping her on the buttocks.

 

Although Rouleau reported the harassment while still with the Guard, the agency’s EEO director failed to explain her right to file a formal complaint. After being reassigned to clerical duties, she also felt that she was being punished for speaking up, according to a summary of the proceedings in Norkin’s ruling.

 

When Rouleau proceeded with filing a formal complaint, the Guard bumbled its handling of the investigation to the point that it was “as good as useless,” Norkin wrote in an earlier decision that found the agency liable for damages.

 

After leaving her Guard job, Rouleau found work elsewhere in the Defense Department, but at a lower-graded position. The total of $231,425 in damages includes some $37,000 to pay for three years of psychiatric visits and anti-depressant medications.

 

Factoids

• 67% of companies are having a hard time filling skilled labor positions
• 61% say the reason is lack of qualified applicants
• 59% of companies say retention is a top priority
• 2/3 of the raises given in 2012 were to retain talent

 

Loyalty at Work

• 85% of employees say they feel a sense of loyalty to their company
• 63% of employees say that their company has a sense of loyalty towards them
• 56% trust their company to tell the truth about the company’s economic health
• 50% trust their employer to tell the truth about the employee’s job security

 

Quotes

“A drunk man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts.’

~Fortune Cookie~