Employment Law 101 and Managing Employees for Supervisors and Elected Officials

This class covers major employment laws and what you need to know if you are a supervisor or elected official responsible for managing employees. The course is designed to help front-line managers and recently promoted employees confidently manage employees and understand the risks and pitfalls that can lead to litigation if not handled appropriately.

• The hiring process, including what you can and can’t ask job applicants.
• What is discrimination in violation of employment laws?
• Hostile work environment/bullying. How to recognize it and what to do if it exists.
• Performance evaluations – should you do them and best practices for discussing employee job performance.
• Employee First Amendment Rights/Whistleblowers – scenarios in which you can or cannot discipline an employee.
• Managing employee leaves under Workers’ Compensation/the Family and Medical Leave Act/the Americans with Disabilities Act, including recognizing when an employee you supervise needs leave, how to complete FMLA forms, the ADA interactive process, and what you can and cannot say to employees with medical conditions.
• What is retaliation and how to avoid it.
• Practical tips for documenting poor work performance and disciplining employees who violate your work rules.
• Employee due process rights.
• Best practices for ending the employment relationship/terminating poor-performing employees.