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Ohio

Of separation & slimebags: ‘Common slang’ & severance agreements

12/07/2010
I’ve seldom, if ever, negotiated a separation or settled an employment dispute for an employer without insisting that the signed agreement include a nondisparagement clause. The reality, however, is that a clause in a contract is only as good as one’s ability to enforce it after it has been breached. That’s not as easy as it once was.

Proselytizing Mount Vernon teacher drops defamation suit

12/06/2010
A teacher fired for teaching his Christian beliefs, keeping a Bible on his desk and using a laboratory tool to burn crosses onto students’ arms has dropped his defamation suit against the Mount Vernon school district.

After career ups and downs, Ironton officer is still fired

12/06/2010

Beth Rist’s story with the city of Ironton goes back years. She was the Ironton Police Department’s first female officer when she was hired in 1996. In 2001, she sued the department, alleging sexual harassment. She won that lawsuit. But Rist’s string of success appeared to stop at that point …

Cable firm’s clear signal: Best to settle bias suit

12/06/2010

After initially refusing to settle a sex discrimination case alleging the company would not hire female technicians, Parma-based Digital Cable and Communications seems to finally get the picture. Several women sued the cable company, claiming they lost out on jobs to less-qualified male applicants. Facing litigation, the company elected to settle.

Employee can be AWOL even if he phones in

12/06/2010

Many public employees assume rules against being absent without leave protect them from termination as long as they call in. But the Ohio Civil Service Act makes it clear: “[U]nexcused failure to appear for duty as scheduled” may be considered job abandonment if it lasts for 10 days. Calling in doesn’t matter.

It takes just a handful of workers to make a class action

12/06/2010
It’s every employer’s nightmare: A disgruntled former employee files a lawsuit alleging you didn’t pay overtime. Then he asks to turn it into a class action, representing other employees. Now a claim worth a few hundred dollars has turned into a major lawsuit.

Insist that managers conduct interviews–even if they already ‘know’ who’s best for the job

12/06/2010

Supervisors may think they know all the candidates for promotion so well they can select one without actually interviewing any of the interested employees. That’s a big mistake. Chances are that if one of the disappointed applicants sues, the supervisor will have to answer very specific questions about the hiring process.

Consider uniform, ADEA-compliant severance and rights-waiver releases–even if age isn’t factor

12/06/2010
There’s a way to make it easier to get severance agreements for older workers to stick. Instead of a general severance agreement for most employees, and a special ADEA-compliant one for older workers, use a uniform agreement that complies with the ADEA for all severance agreements. That’s what one employer recently did. When the former employee who signed the agreement tried to get out of it, the court refused.

Ohio ranks 6th in business climate, best outside South

12/06/2010
Ohio has the top-ranked business climate outside the South and the sixth best nationwide, according to Site Selection magazine. Every year, the magazine surveys site selectors to get their take on how easy or hard it is to do business in each state. Then it rates the states by tallying up manufacturing plant openings and new expansions of other corporate facilities.

Head off harassment suits: Review all firings

12/06/2010
Quid pro quo harassment cases, in which a supervisor makes a pass at a subordinate and then punishes her if she rejects the advance, are hard for employers to defend. Your best bet is prevention. Institute a review process for all adverse employment actions such as demotions or terminations. Require a second signature before any firing becomes final.