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Firing

Can we fire an employee for refusing to take a lie detector test?

11/15/2010
Q. One of our employees filed a sexual harassment complaint against another worker. After interviewing both parties, we are unable to resolve the credibility conflict. We asked the accused co-worker to take a polygraph exam, but he refused. Can we fire the employee for refusing to take the lie detector test?

Baytown falls victim to growing age bias lawsuit trend

11/15/2010
Former Baytown municipal employee Richard Hensley is suing the city, arguing that a negative performance appraisal he received reflects a pattern of discrimination against older workers. The lawsuit argues that the city of Baytown routinely replaces older employees with younger, unqualified replacements.

7th Circuit rejects ‘cat’s paw’ theory in age discrimination claim

11/15/2010
The recent 7th Circuit decision in Lindsey v. Walgreen Co. addresses the cat’s paw theory of liability in the context of an age discrimination claim. The court held that a supervisor who decided to fire an employee was not the “cat’s paw” because she did not rely solely on the employee’s allegedly biased supervisor.

Set up systems to prevent employee sabotage

11/12/2010

Employees often have legitimate reasons for accusing their employers of retaliation. But sometimes, employees themselves retaliate against a company, either out of malice, or to head off being fired. That’s one reason it pays to try to anticipate employee misfeasance and guard against sabotage.

What’s the best way to handle termination meetings?

11/11/2010
Q. I just terminated an employee and it was an ugly, public scene. Do you have any tips for making termination meetings easier?

Know the NLRA: Unionized or not, labor law applies to you

11/11/2010

The federal labor law can be a trap for the unwary—even for nonunion employers. Even if your employees don’t belong to a union, the National Labor Relations Act applies to you. For example, the National Labor Relations Board recently announced that a nonunionized employer will pay $900,000 to two fired employees to settle charges that it violated the NLRA.

Don’t automatically concede unemployment to top execs

11/11/2010
Not every employee who loses a job through no fault of his own is eligible for unemployment compensation. About 40 job classifications are ineligible—most of them highly compensated or policy-making positions.

Some public employee speech is protected but not speech that’s part of the job

11/11/2010

Some government employees mistakenly believe an employer can’t punish anything they say because the U.S. Constitution gives them the right to free speech. They’re forgetting that free speech has limits. For example, their speech is protected only if it touches on matters of public importance. And it is not protected if the speech occurs as part of their jobs.

When manager slides from difficult to impossible, good documentation supports reason for firing

11/09/2010
There comes a time when you might be forced to conclude that the problem with a department isn’t all those lousy employees, but the person who manages them. If that’s the case, it may be time to terminate the manager.

Promptly fixed problem can’t be grounds for legal action

11/08/2010

Managing a workplace isn’t easy and not every assignment or schedule is completely fair. Employees who complain about something that might otherwise be considered an adverse employment action can’t sue if their employer fixes the problem right away.