• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Firing

Johnstown-area workers tilt at Spanish windmill company

10/22/2008

Kevin Wagner, Paul McElhenny and Rick Williams are suing Gamesa/Fiberblade, a Spanish manufacturer of wind turbines, for allegedly replacing them with younger workers and those from Spain …

Act fast and fairly to investigate when employee complains of hostile work environment

10/21/2008

No matter how hard you work to make sure your workplace is a model of fairness and civility, you can’t rule out the possibility that an employee will come to HR with a claim that she’s being forced to work in a racially or sexually hostile environment. How you handle that complaint may make the difference between nipping an ugly problem in the bud and paying a huge jury award.

Keep detailed records on disciplinary process

10/21/2008

Far too often, careless employers lose lawsuits they should have won, especially when it comes to terminations. Here’s why: Some fired employees will sue for discrimination, and they have to show that you treated them differently because of some protected characteristic such as race, gender or age …

Confidentiality provision may violate federal labor law

10/20/2008

A temporary employment agency violated federal labor law by including a confidentiality provision in an employment contract, according to a recent NLRB ruling (Northeastern Land Services, Ltd. dba The NLS Group and Jamison John Dupuy, 352 NLRB No. 89, 2008). In the case, the agency fired a worker for violating the confidentiality provision …

Firing a ‘That’s not in my job description’ complainer

10/17/2008

Q. The owner of our company recently fired an employee who refused to run a business-related errand. The employee said running errands wasn’t in his job description. Can he sue us for wrongful termination? …

Can we terminate employees on workers’ comp?

10/17/2008

Q. We have two employees who went out on workers’ compensation leave and never came back. They’re still listed as employees. Can we lay them off? …

Fire away if severance demands are unreasonable

10/14/2008

Wise HR professionals understand that, before jumping the gun and firing an employee who has filed a complaint, a thorough investigation is in order. But that’s when many employees try to negotiate a severance package in exchange for a resignation. If the investigation and negotiations drag on, can you discharge the employee for making what you consider unreasonable demands? …

Caring for grandchild qualifies for FMLA leave

10/14/2008

When an employee has a baby or adopts a child, it’s easy to determine that he or she is eligible for FMLA leave. But it gets murkier when the baby who needs care isn’t the employee’s own child. The FMLA regulations list eligible dependent children as those to whom the employee has “day-to-day responsibility to care for and financially support.”

Workers committed same offense? Be sure to document why one got harsher penalty

10/14/2008

It’s critical for HR to back up every disciplinary decision with complete records showing exactly why an employee deserved his punishment. If a fired employee broke the same rule another employee did, those records better show you punished them equally—or explain why the punishment was different …

Retain right to nix discipline that might be retaliation

10/14/2008

Employees don’t have to win their discrimination claims to charge retaliation. That’s why it’s important for HR to stay on top of any disciplinary action aimed at an employee who has already complained about discrimination …