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Firing

Tell bosses: Sexist comments can come back to haunt you

06/08/2009

If you haven’t recently reminded supervisors to keep anti-female comments to themselves, here’s a recent case
you can cite. Such comments will be viewed as direct evidence of discrimination. That practically guarantees a lawsuit if the employee is ever fired.

When can a Florida state agency terminate an employee for ‘disloyalty’?

06/08/2009

Q. Our state agency’s board is considering terminating a legal secretary who seems to have been a supporter of one of our attorneys who was discharged for both performance problems and being disloyal to our board. We understand that, under the patronage dismissal doctrine, we can terminate employees who supported the political opponent of our agency’s elective head. Can the board likewise discharge the legal secretary for her seeming disloyalty?

OK to fire a bankrupt financial manager? We fear his ineptitude will chase customers away

06/08/2009

Q. One of our financial managers has filed for bankruptcy, and our directors now want to terminate him because they doubt his financial judgment. They’re also worried that customers will react negatively to the news that one of our finance people is going bankrupt. Can we lawfully discharge him?

Always investigate harassment before firing

06/05/2009

If you have ever been tempted to fire an alleged harasser just because you suspected the alleged victim might sue, consider this: The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has concluded that fear of being sued is no excuse for firing a suspected harasser without investigating.

State pays $300,000 to the photographer Paterson fired

06/05/2009

When Gov. David Paterson was Senate minority leader in 2003, he fired a white photographer and replaced him with a less qualified black one. Now the state has agreed to settle the original photographer’s lawsuit for $300,000 while admitting no wrongdoing.

Beware influence of biased supervisor when making termination decisions

06/05/2009

Here’s a way to guarantee a race discrimination case will go to a jury trial: Let a supervisor with an obvious racial bias participate in the decision to terminate an employee who belongs to the protected class the supervisor dislikes. Even if you have a seemingly legitimate reason to terminate the employee, the supervisor’s involvement will taint the entire process.

Suspect worker isn’t disabled? See if he’s working elsewhere

06/05/2009

Some employees have minor medical conditions they claim make it impossible to perform some aspect of their jobs. They want accommodations, assuming they will meet the ADA disability definition. If you want to challenge such a disability claim, check to see whether the employee is working elsewhere.

10 steps to stress-free, lawsuit-free termination meetings

06/05/2009

Terminations are the hardest things HR professionals and supervisors have to do—and probably the most legally dangerous. One wrong word can trigger a lawsuit. To handle terminations well, you need to keep calm and communicate your message without escalating the tension. Here’s a 10-step process.

Use progressive discipline—or prepare to pay unemployment even if conduct was outrageous

06/05/2009

Ohio employees who are discharged for just cause aren’t entitled to unemployment compensation payments. But Ohio courts frequently hesitate to cut off unemployment benefits for one-time conduct that may be outrageous—as long as the employee doesn’t have a history of past disciplinary problems and the employer has a progressive discipline program it didn’t use.

Beware vengeful boss’s shadowy retaliation

06/01/2009

Even if someone else in the management hierarchy actually terminates an employee, a supervisor who’s seemingly had it in for the employee can still cause a world of legal headaches for the employer. This is the so-called “cat’s paw” legal theory, which holds that employers are liable if they approve a recommendation that is based on illegal motives such as retaliation.