Workable Workforce Series: HR management and legal matters

Dairy Stream

In the fourth and final part of the Workable Workforce Series, we cover general HR management from a legal standpoint. Employment Law Attorney Troy Thompson of Axley Brynelson Law Firm shares insight on farm employment policies, avoiding claims in the hiring process, worker compensation, strategies for dealing with an underperforming employee and terminating employment. Dairy Stream host Joanna Guza dives into the topics below with Troy:

• 1:25: Four categories of farm employment policies
• 6:15: Displaying employment HR items
• 7:42: Helping farm managers and supervisors be successful with HR items
• 12:20: Common HR mistakes
• 20:53: Avoid employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims
• 26:35: Documentation of claims
• 26:04: Protecting your farm from unfair competition
• 30:47: How to stay organized with HR matters and foreign labor
• 32:38: HR management with seasonal workers
• 35:16: Worker compensation claims
• 40:21: Reasonable accommodations or medical leave of absence
• 43:54: Handling underperforming employees
• 46:08: Professionally terminating an employee
• 47:44: Disputing unemployment claims

Special thanks to Compeer Financial for sponsoring this episode.

About the guest

• Troy Thompson is a management-side employment attorney with Axley Brynelson Law Firm in Madison, Wisconsin, where he also serves as the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group Leader. Axley is one of Wisconsin’s historic full service law firms [founded in 1885] with extensive experience representing businesses in the dairy industry including: (1) closely held family businesses, (2) agricultural cooperatives, (3) food manufacturers and packagers, and (4) international dairy equipment and robotics manufacturers. Troy is a 1994 graduate of UW-Madison and a 1998 graduate of Marquette Law School. He grew up in a small farming community in south-central Wisconsin [City of Waterloo; Jefferson County] and paid his way through school by working for several agri-businesses. Today, he represents his clients in a broad range of labor and employment, risk avoidance, and business litigation matters.

Dairy Stream has dedicated four episodes to focus on an asset on your farm, your workforce. The four episodes of the Workable Workforce Series will cover recruiting, engaging, coaching and HR legal items. The series is sponsored by Syngenta and Compeer Financial.

May 3: Workable Workforce Series: Recruiting and Onboarding Talent | LISTEN HERE

May 24: Workable Workforce Series: Retention and Engagement | LISTEN HERE

June 14: Workable Workforce Series: Coaching and Counseling | LISTEN HERE

This podcast is co-produced by the Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sister organizations that fight for effective dairy policy in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing [e-mail].