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Firing

FMLA doesn’t apply to workers who try to deceive you

09/01/2003
If you discover that one of your employees has either misused or lied about his leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), you’re well within your rights to fire …

Never assume pregnancy will affect employees’ ability to work

09/01/2003
Issue: It’s up to pregnant employees to decide if pregnancy or maternity will prevent them from performing their jobs.
Risk: Liability for up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in …

You can require mandatory overtime

09/01/2003

Q. A new employee has just informed his supervisor that he can’t work any overtime. Can we legally fire this person? —G.M., Virginia

‘Free speech’ no protection to workers

08/01/2003
The next time an employee argues that he has a First Amendment right to say whatever he wants at work, wear a T-shirt with a controversial message or display …

Allow applicants to answer negative background-check results

08/01/2003
It’s true that your company could be held liable if it rejects an applicant based on inaccurate data in his background check. But don’t stop doing background …

If workers’ ‘free speech’ threatens others, you can ban it

08/01/2003
Issue: Employees wrongly believe the First Amendment protects their comments at work.
Risk: You don’t need to put up with employees who claim their harassment or bias is just “free …

Let applicants respond to background-check results

08/01/2003
Issue: You can be held liable for rejecting job applicants because of inaccurate background checks.
Risk: Defamation, invasion of privacy and wrongful-discharge lawsuits …

Less chance of receiving ‘no match’ letter from SSA in 2003

08/01/2003
Issue: Letters from the Social Security Administration (SSA) flushed out thousands of illegal aliens working in U.S. companies, creating chaos for HR departments …

Mentioning worker’s body odor isn’t discriminatory

08/01/2003
A Muslim IT manager sued for national-origin discrimination, claiming that he was fired for what his supervisor considered poor personal hygiene, not poor performance. His evidence: The supervisor had confronted him …

Behavior change can spark FMLA notice

07/01/2003
Perk up if an employee’s spotless performance suddenly deteriorates. That alone, even if the employee never mentions a word about a health condition, …