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Firing

You don’t have to put up with disruptive behavior

02/01/2008

Have you tiptoed around an employee’s poor behavior because he belongs to a protected class? You don’t have to tolerate rudeness, threats or other disruptive acts. Just make sure you have clear rules in place and enforce them equally against everyone who breaks them. And remember: You have an obligation to provide a workplace free of violence …

Are we required to explain why we discharged an employee?

02/01/2008

Q. My company recently terminated an employee. The employee claims that she is entitled to a letter outlining the reasons for her discharge. Is she correct? If so, how much information must we provide the discharged employee? …

No individual liability under Texas Whistleblower Act or Labor Code

02/01/2008

Good news: Your managers and supervisors aren’t individually liable for violating either the Texas Whistleblower Act or the Texas Labor Code. That means your personal assets aren’t on the line …

Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Law

02/01/2008
Minnesota’s unemployment compensation fund, like that of many other states, provides temporary payments to employees who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. The state administers the law through the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) …

Ready, fire, aim: Grocery clerk stops shoplifter, loses job

01/15/2008

File this one under “no good deed goes unpunished.” Michigan grocery clerk John Schultz says he lost his job after trying to thwart the getaway of an alleged shoplifter. The firing offense? Touching a customer …

Hiring friends, family not illegal—Unless race factors in

01/01/2008

Technically, favoring friends and family members for jobs and giving them plum assignments isn’t illegal. But if nepotism results in an all or mostly white work force, applicants or employees from other protected categories (e.g., race, gender, national origin) can still sue, claiming illegal discrimination …

Hookers, communal baths put Dentsu in hot water

01/01/2008

Steve Beigel, former creative director for Manhattan ad agency Dentsu Holdings, is suing the company over sexually offensive outings held on company trips …

All periods of employment count toward FMLA eligibility

01/01/2008

For the purpose of determining FMLA eligibility, all time spent working for an organization counts toward the minimum one year of service the law requires. That’s true even if there was a gap in employment …

Ohio Supreme Court narrows right to file wrongful discharge claim

01/01/2008

The Ohio Supreme Court has narrowed the scope of the public-policy wrongful discharge claim in Ohio. In Leininger v. Pioneer Nat’l Latex, the Ohio Supreme Court said employees couldn’t claim wrongful discharge after being fired for speaking out on alleged age discrimination. Here’s what the decision means …

Don’t just rubber-Stamp manager’s termination recommendation

01/01/2008

When a supervisor recommends discharging an employee, resist the temptation to simply agree with her assessment. Here’s why: If the employee is being targeted because she took FMLA leave or engaged in some other form of protected activity, blind adherence to the supervisor’s recommendation to fire opens up the company to a retaliation claim.