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Firing

Clamp down on teasing to stop hostile environment suit

01/13/2009

Unless it’s egregious and outrageous (something like a clearly racist epithet or a dangling noose), a one-time derogatory comment likely won’t become the foundation for a hostile environment lawsuit—if you take immediate steps to stop any escalation.

Require those on FMLA leave to call in sick, just like any other employee

01/13/2009

Good news from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals: If you have a system for employees to call in sick, you can require everyone to use it—even employees on approved intermittent FMLA leave. The trick is to make sure that the employee taking FMLA leave understands she still must call in.

Warn managers: Even years later, acting against whistle-blower can be retaliation

01/13/2009

Genuine whistle-blowers are protected against retaliation under the Minnesota Whistleblower Act even if the retaliation occurs years later. Caution management to avoid any action that smacks of punishing an employee for instigating or cooperating with a criminal investigation of alleged company wrongdoing.

Whistle-blower needs more than hunch employer broke law

01/13/2009

Good news: Employees who claim to be whistle-blowers protected from discharge for complaining about alleged workplace problems under the Minnesota Whistleblower Act have to do more than make general allegations. A true whistle-blower has to show that his claim, if proven, would amount to a violation of a Minnesota law.

Hilton women sue over orgy

01/13/2009

Deborah Smith, a former night manager of the SkyWater Restaurant at the Hilton Minneapolis, has filed a lawsuit alleging she was fired for walking in on an orgy involving upper managers in December 2007.

Muslim man claims bias at Dearborn Wal-Mart

01/09/2009

Louay Kezy, a former stockroom clerk at a Wal-Mart store in Dearborn, has filed a $12 million lawsuit claiming he was harassed and fired because of his Arab and Muslim heritage. Kezy, who worked at the store from March to August 2008, claims that co-workers made terrorist jokes and hostile remarks such as “We hate you all” …

Feds file harassment suit against Muskegon County

01/09/2009

Muskegon County faces a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit claiming the county failed to respond to sexual harassment complaints dating back nine years. In 2000, Eva Amaya, a former computer analyst for the 60th District Court, complained about inappropriate touching by co-worker Eugene Beene …

$1.3 million discrimination judgment against Spitzer senior

01/09/2009

A Bronx jury has ordered Bernard Spitzer, father of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, to pay more than $1.3 million to four former employees to settle racial discrimination charges.

Prepare to make clear-cut case before firing public employee working on contract

01/05/2009

Ohio public school employees who work under contracts for a set term have the right to keep working until the contract runs out, absent certain “extraordinary circumstances.” But school districts that show exactly why an employee should be fired … are on solid ground when it comes to a later lawsuit.

Don’t mess with the maestro

01/05/2009

Donald Rosenberg is suing The Plain Dealer, claiming he was fired from his beat as classical music critic because he frequently panned the Cleveland Orchestra’s conductor, Franz Welser-Möst.