09/02/2010
Q. One of our employees has received glowing reviews for 10 years, but she’s been working on her personal business on company time for the past two years. The employee’s supervisor never addressed this issue in writing, and now her new supervisor wants to fire her without any documentation or counseling. Can the supervisor do this without any expectation of “trouble” from the employee?
|
09/01/2010
Until recently, Jim Callaghan was a writer for the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), the union that represents New York City teachers and that has made its name by actively opposing city officials’ power to fire teachers without due process. Now Callaghan is claiming UFT employees have no such protection themselves. He says he was fired after he began looking into unionizing UFT editorial employees.
|
08/27/2010
A Jehovah’s Witness was fired from her job at a Belk department store in Raleigh after she refused to wear a Santa hat while wrapping Christmas gifts. She told her supervisors that wearing the Santa hat would violate her religious beliefs. The EEOC asserts Belk violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by refusing to accommodate her religious beliefs.
|
08/27/2010
In North Carolina, union employees have to use their contracts to pursue claims they were unfairly fired. They can’t do what at-will employees can do—sue for wrongful termination.
|
08/27/2010
Employees who sue for discrimination usually have to show they were punished more harshly than other employees outside their protected class. Counter such claims with specifics. While you may have punished 10 employees this year for breaking the same rule, chances are that each case was unique—and that you made the punishment fit the crime. That’s fine.
|
08/27/2010
Don’t expect to escape unemployment compensation liability if you fire someone for sleeping on the job. If the reason is an underlying medical condition, the employee may be able to prove she wasn’t fired for cause.
|
08/27/2010
Here’s a step you can take to guard against challenges to your drug-testing procedures. When you tell an employee he failed the test, get him to admit he used drugs. That can ensure he doesn’t receive unemployment compensation.
|
08/25/2010
Some employers don’t necessarily want to confront an employee directly when they suspect that he may be engaged in illegal activity. The threat of violent reprisal is very real. If you fire the employee, he may sue, alleging some form of discrimination. But if you have documented why you did what you did, chances are the lawsuit will be dismissed.
|
08/25/2010
Should you establish a zero-tolerance ban on swearing in the workplace? It’s probably not realistic and you may set yourself up for discrimination claims if you clamp down on one employee’s slip-up but not another’s. Instead, establish more general rules that say offensive language and other disrespectful conduct are not permitted, and violators will be subjected to the discipline policy.
|
08/23/2010
Employees who have just lost their jobs usually leave their termination meetings in a foul mood. So, don’t give them any reason during that meeting to send them marching to a lawyer’s office. As you’ll see in the following case, one inflammatory phrase from a supervisor can spark a lawsuit.
|
08/18/2010
The Cook County Human Rights Commission has found “substantial evidence” of sexual-orientation discrimination in its investigation of the Bremen Community High School District No. 228. The case began after the district fired Superintendent Richard Mitchell following a series of clashes with the board.
|
08/18/2010
Driver Peter Cefalu was fired from his job at Roadway Express after submitting a statement backing a co-worker’s claims that the company illegally required drivers to falsify their transportation logs. Cefalu complained to OSHA and was ordered reinstated ...
|
08/18/2010
Elective surgery that isn’t medically necessary may not be eligible for FMLA leave because the employee having the procedure may not be suffering from a serious health condition. Challenge such leave requests by asking for the second and third certifications that the FMLA allows.
|
08/18/2010
During last year’s swine flu pandemic, lots of employers came up with contingency plans in case employees got sick. Most swine flu cases, thankfully, ended up being quite mild. And as a practical matter, that probably meant that most employees who had swine flu would not have been eligible for FMLA leave because they weren’t incapacitated or unable to perform the essential functions of their jobs for three days.
|
08/12/2010
Here’s some good news that will make it easier for employers that want to challenge unemployment compensation claims after firing an employee for misconduct. The HR representative who conducted the investigation can testify about what others said, provided that any written statements are also presented.
|