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Firing

Firing OK if FMLA return date isn’t honored

08/19/2008
When an employee goes out on FMLA leave, set a return date and stick to it. If she doesn’t show up back to work and doesn’t ask for an extension or a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, you are free to terminate her, effective at the end of the leave …

Suit: Lawmakers discriminated when they fired transsexual

08/19/2008
Vandiver Elizabeth Glenn, a transgender former legislative editor in the Georgia General Assembly’s Office of Legislative Counsel, filed a discrimination lawsuit alleging she was fired after she told higher-ups she would begin coming to work as a woman …

What if E-Verify shows someone isn’t authorized to work?

08/19/2008
Q. What happens if I run an E-Verify check on an employee and find out he or she is an unauthorized worker? …

‘One who hired also fired’ doesn’t remove discrimination hook

08/15/2008
It’s logical, right?  When the same person who hired and promoted an employee eventually terminates that employee, there couldn’t have been any discrimination. After all, the hiring supervisor didn’t discriminate at selection time, so why would she discriminate at discharge time? Unfortunately, employers can’t rely solely on this same-actor defense in court …

Warn managers: Zero tolerance for any kind of age-related harassment

08/15/2008
Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, it is unlawful for an employer to harass an employee based on the employee’s age. And employers are strictly liable for workplace harassment if the harasser is a supervisor. As a practical matter, that means HR must make sure no supervisor or manager makes any kind of comment that suggests any kind of age bias …

Tracking all discipline makes it easier to defend lawsuits

08/13/2008
Employees who are fired frequently sue, alleging some form of discrimination. A fired employee may say, for example, that she was treated differently than her male co-worker who allegedly committed the same workplace offense. Smart employers keep careful track of all disciplinary actions and use progressive disciplinary programs to differentiate among employees …

Tell managers: No discrimination for in vitro fertilization

08/13/2008
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) prohibits discrimination “because of or on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.” Until now, it was an open question whether that law covered fertility treatments. Now the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that employers can’t punish female employees for undergoing in vitro fertilization …

Be sure ‘Shared’ employees don’t put you over FMLA limit

08/13/2008
Many small employers aren’t covered by the FMLA because they don’t have 50 or more employees. But if you’re considering adding temp help from an outside agency to handle a workload spike, get out your calculator first. If you’re not careful, you could wind up triggering FMLA liability for everyone who works for you …

Why are gas prices so high? BP suit may provide partial answer

08/13/2008
A woman who once earned millions each year as an oil trader for BP America has filed a sex discrimination lawsuit against the company. Alison Myers alleges BP gave a prime piece of business to a less experienced male trader and ultimately fired her when she complained …

Ensure handbook doesn’t make FMLA promises you can’t keep

08/13/2008
An Indiana employer must now respond to charges it misled employees when it promised FMLA benefits in its handbook, even though the company is too small to be covered by the FMLA. The case, recently decided by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, shows the problems that arise when employers promise more than they are willing to deliver in their employee handbooks …