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Firing

Rochester paralegal’s job goes up in smoke

09/03/2008

The Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, upheld the firing of Karen Kridel, a former paralegal with Dibble & Miller, PC, in Rochester, for taking smoking breaks. Kridel customarily took two five-minute breaks from her work each day to smoke …

Supreme Court rules CHRA sole state discrimination remedy

09/02/2008

The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that employees who want to sue for most kinds of employment discrimination under Texas state law must use the provisions of the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act. They can’t sue under the Texas Whistleblower Act in an effort to sidestep the CHRA’s rather complex procedures or miss its short filing deadlines …

Don’t sugarcoat reason for termination

09/02/2008

Sometimes, you just know that the reason a supervisor offers in a memo or e-mail for wanting to fire someone is going to look suspicious if the employee ever sues. If you can’t persuade the supervisor to reconsider, resist the temptation to help sugarcoat the situation with a neutral-sounding reason. It will only make matters worse when the employee’s lawyer inevitably discovers the memo or e-mail …

Handle with care if older employee’s performance slips

09/02/2008
When some employees approach retirement, they begin to coast. They may think that there’s no way their employer will let them go at their age, assuming management will be afraid of an Age Discrimination in Employment case. The truth is, that worker isn’t untouchable. Here’s how to handle the situation when you discover the employee is still coming to work but has mentally retired …

Go ahead! Fire if worker sneaks confidential docs to EEOC

09/02/2008
Employees who file EEOC complaints may assume they can rifle through company files looking for smoking-gun evidence of discrimination. Bad move. Employers don’t have to put up with such outrageous antics—if they have the right policies in place …

Lawful Off-Duty Activities Statute requires caution before discharge

09/02/2008
Colorado employees are protected from being fired for engaging in lawful activities while off duty that are unrelated to their job duties. Employers should carefully consider discharging someone if it appears that off-duty activities may be a factor. It’s crucial to tie disciplinary action to legitimate job concerns apart from any outside activities …

Problem employee—and she hasn’t even started!

09/02/2008
Q. We just hired a new employee, but there were problems even before she started. She delayed her start date and provided an excuse. I called her former employer and learned she had lied to me about her prior salary and about her departure date from that employer. If I had known the truth, I doubt I would have hired her. Now the fact that I know she lied to me even before she started work leaves me with the conclusion that I can’t trust her. Can I fire her even before she starts? …

Differing male and female grooming standards may signal opening for religious accommodation

08/27/2008
Some religions prohibit men from cutting their hair. That can conflict with company grooming standards that set different limits on how long male and female employees may wear their hair. Generally, courts allow such differences … Even so, a man whose religion says he cannot cut his hair may have a religious discrimination case.

Pittsburgh scientist says government axed him for speaking his mind

08/27/2008
Abdel Moniem Ali El-Ganayni, a nuclear physicist, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), claiming it revoked his security clearance and fired him because of his ethnicity, his Muslim faith and his criticism of the war in Iraq …

Ex-Worker charged in killings was upset about a reprimand

08/27/2008
Robert Diamond, the fired worker charged with killing two employees at Simon & Schuster’s distribution center in Bristol on Aug. 1, said he had been harassed by co-workers and was upset about being reprimanded in March for calling a black co-worker “boy.” …