Recent content by Mark_A

Looks like you are correct: The [Cook County] Pro Se Small Claims Court works as follows: The person filing the complaint (the plaintiff) must be pro se; attorneys are not allowed to file complaints on behalf of clients in this branch. Plaintiffs may seek monetary damages only up to $3,000.00...

I don't have a problem with your suggestion. My problem was with the suggestion that the manager tell the employee "you have a body odor problem and you need to fix it." I thought that was too harsh without giving the employee a chance to explain.

Then what would you say to the employee? How about: Are you taking a shower on a regular basis? Does that pass your test? If the employee was taking a shower on a regular basis, then she can say so, but that would let her know that her boss thinks she has an odor problem without saying...

Asking the employee whether there is some reason they are not taking a regular shower on a regular basis anymore (what I suggested) seems direct to me. Immediately telling the employee that they need to fix the problem before the employee even has a chance to explain the reason for not...

If you read my previous posts carefully about what the manager should say, at no time did I ever suggest that the manager ask the employee if they had any of the specific conditions that I mentioned in this forum (like COVID-19). I said the manger should ask the employee if there is some reason...

Is this a financial question, or an aesthetic question? Is George paying the entire cost?

Are you sure the Small Claims Court limit varies by county in IL? A quick search suggests that there is a $10,000 limit across the state, but I am not saying that is correct. What county is it? If the limit is $3,000 not sure why you are suggesting that you sue for $5,000? Here are the rules...

Is that sex (gender) discrimination? I don't understand how that would be the case here. If it did turn out to be a medical problem (such as loss of smell due to some sudden illness like COVID-19, or temporarily not being able to bathe due to some medical procedure or condition), then that...

You are twisting what I said. My suggestion was to casually ask the employee if there is some reason why they are not taking as many showers these days, in "sort of" a joking or non-confrontational manner. I didn't mean that the manager should make a joke that would ridicule the employee...

I have been a manager in several large corporations, including one of the 5 largest ones at the time. I have had to deal with lots of employee issues, Sometimes I needed to consult with HR and they explained company policy regarding firing employees, etc, but the HR people didn't have to talk to...

As already mentioned, I believe that the business owner and employee are the only two office workers, and the others are in the field (at least most of the time). It might not be necessary to ask if they can talk privately. Like I said, if a manager immediately started talking about the...

If I were the employee, I would immediately feel threatened and suspect that I was about to get fired.

Sorry, didn't mean to suggest that you were their friend.

When did I say anyone advised that the employee should be fired?. The legal question was whether the employee can sue the employer "if" they did get fired. So I am pretty sure that the employer is "considering" letting her go as a possibility, which explains why they posted this question on a...

I guess it depends on what kind of relationship you have with your employee. In most places I have worked, close friends make jokes like that to each other all the time, and no one every took it as bullying, but I don't live in the People's Republic of California. Maybe the word "joke" was not...