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Pennsylvania

Worker lied about treatment? That’s grounds for termination

07/26/2011

Some employees are less than honest about their absences. From the “Monday morning flu” to claiming time off for nonexistent medical treatment, employees can get creative. But what can you do if you find out later that an employee has lied to get time off? Fire him for misrepresentation.

Requesting light duty isn’t an official FMLA request

07/26/2011
The FMLA grants time off for em­­ployees with serious health conditions, but they must let employers know they need leave. Simply requesting light-duty work isn’t enough.

Independent exam for safety’s sake doesn’t violate ADA

07/26/2011
Some employees believe that an em­­ployer can’t legally request a medical exam. They’re wrong.

Be prepared to explain your reasonable rationale for firing protected-class worker

07/26/2011

Hesitant to fire an employee because of his race, religion or other pro­­tected characteristic? Don’t be. Employers with legitimate reasons to discharge someone generally win cases. That’s true even if the firing might appear discriminatory—such as when the sole fired employee happens to belong to a protected class.

Put it in your handbook: Supervisors must never use demeaning language

07/26/2011

It’s not enough to have policies in place that let you win employee lawsuits. You need policies that ensure you don’t wind up in court in the first place. For example, simply having a rule that requires managers to avoid sexist, ageist or otherwise offensive words can prevent lawsuits based on perceived discrimination.

Use your Internet policy to justify terminating potentially dangerous employee

07/26/2011
Employers that want to maintain a productive workplace are smart to set limits on the websites employees can visit. Consider the following case, in which an employer was able to use its Internet policy to terminate an e­mployee whom co-workers and super­visors feared might do them harm.

Act ASAP to end sexually hostile environment

07/26/2011

It doesn’t take much for a work environment to become hostile enough to prompt an employee’s sexual harassment lawsuit. And if many incidents occur over time—or even if a handful of offenses are severe enough—the employee may have a winning case. That’s why you must act fast upon the first reported incident to stop further problems.

Hospital executive pleads guilty to embezzlement charges

06/24/2011

The former executive vice president of the Children’s Hospital of Phila­del­phia has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a 12-year plot to embezzle $1.7 million from the hospital. Roosevelt Hairston Jr. was relieved of his duties in February after hospital auditors found irregularities.

York County official claims hard times led her to steal

06/24/2011
York County Assistant Chief Clerk Vickie Gladfelter has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $347,000 in county funds. She was sentenced to one to five years in state prison. Glad­­felter confessed to a seven-year scheme involving selling used county cell phones and pocketing postal refunds.

When planning layoff, use objective factors

06/24/2011
When deciding who should get the ax during cost-cutting reductions in force, use as many objective factors as possible. For example, use performance measures that include specific achieve­­­ments and rankings based on those achievements.