Covering Your Assets: Practical guidance on avoiding litigation

1. Covering Your Assets:Practical Guidance on Avoiding LitigationW. Jonathan Martin II

2. Why Should I Care?

4. Let’s Talk About Numbers • Jury Awards $13 Million in Disability Discrimination Case (Las Vegas, Nevada 1999) • Jury Awards $30.675 Million Verdict in Age Discrimination Case (Youngstown, Ohio 2001) • Mitsubishi Motors Settles Sexual Harassment Lawsuit for $34 Million (Normal, Illinois 1999) • Coca Cola Settles Race Discrimination Lawsuit for $192.5 Million (Atlanta, Georgia 2000) • Government Will Pay $508 Million to Settle Sex Discrimination Suit (CNN – March 22, 2000)

5. Business Week April 23, 2007

6. Option 1

8. Option 2

9. Let’s Talk About the LAW

10. Georgia Employment Law • Georgia recognizes the doctrine of employment at will. Employment at will means that in the absence of a written contract of employment for a defined duration, an employer can terminate an employee for good cause, bad cause or no cause at all, so long as it is not an illegal cause.

11. Employment Law Generally • Missouri follows the Employment-At-Will doctrine. This means that both the employer and employee can terminate the employment relationship at any time and for any reason, as long as there is no employment contract to the contrary, there is no discrimination under civil rights laws (based on race, color, age, national origin, religion, ancestry, sex, or physical/mental disability), no merit laws apply, or the state’s limited public policy exception does not apply. If you feel you have been discriminated against while on a job or while applying for a job, you have the right to file a complaint with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights.

12. Overview • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Equal Pay Act • Age Discrimination in Employment Act • Americans with Disabilities Act • Uniformed Services Reemployment (USERRA) • Immigration Reform & Control Act • Family & Medical Leave Act

13. Overview • National Labor Relations Act • Fair Labor Standards Act • Occupational Safety & Health Act • Voting Time & Jury Duty • Workers Compensation • Employment of Minors • And There Are State Laws Too!

14. Discussion Question

15. Protect Your Investment:Educate, Motivate & Rehabilitate! Verbal Counseling Written Warning Final Written Warning / Suspension Termination

16. What Should Be Contained In A Disciplinary Memo • Date • Specific Violation • Mention Any Prior Related Discipline • If No Improvement- What Will Happen? • Employee Response • Signature of Employee • Supervisor’s / Manager’s Signature

17. Let’s Talk About theGetting The Most Out of Your People!3 Rules for Managing People Leading

18. 7 “Leaders” You Can’t Afford • I’m The Boss . . . Don’t You Forget It! • Uncertain (“My Boss Is Telling Me . . .”) • Inconsistent “Leaders” (Favoritism) • Deceptive (Promises They Don’t Intend To Keep) • Foul Language “Leaders” • Negative “Leaders” • Absent “Leader” (Always In Office)

19. Practice # 1 Make Common Sense Common Practice

20. ABC’s Of Employment Law • A - Always • B - Be • C - Consistent • D - Document • E - Everything

21. Practice # 2 Take a Second Look At First Impressions

23. Final Practice Follow The Golden Rule And The Gold Will Follow!

24. It’s Not the Big Things . . .

25. Maintaining Morale:6 Ways to Reward Employees • Volunteer to do Person’s Least Desirable Work for an Hour • Paychecks Go Out –Write a Note Concerning Employee’s Accomplishment • Have Lunch or Dinner with an Employee or Group of Employees You Don’t Normally Spend Time With • Look for Opportunities to Recognize Employees • Visit Employees in Their Time of Need • Praise Employee in front of Spouse or Children

26. I’m No Rocket Scientist . . . But Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert EinsteinUS (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955)

27. Questions?