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Firing

Raise Doesn’t Prove Employee Was Succeeding

10/01/2001

Q. About three months ago, we gave a marginal employee who is pregnant a pay raise in hopes that it would improve her job performance by boosting her morale. Unfortunately, her performance has gone from bad to worse. If we fire her for poor performance, can she successfully argue that the recent raise indicates that she was performing well and that our reason for terminating her was discriminatory? —H.K., Illinois

Put ‘unwritten rules’ in writing

09/01/2001
Interstate Brands Corp. had an unwritten policy that required a doctor’s note to confirm all absences caused by a work-related injury. When Cynthia Bausman didn’t produce …

Once you accommodate disabled, proving ‘hardship’ gets tougher

09/01/2001
When Larry Skerski began working as a cable technician, about half his job involved climbing ladders, poles and towers. But a decade into his job, he developed a panic disorder when …

Small, but vital, function of a job may make it ‘essential’ under ADA

09/01/2001
Job descriptions at Northern States Power Co. make it an “essential function” for customer service reps to handle emergency calls like gas leaks and downed power lines. Loretta Emerson handled …

Simple accommodation efforts can avoid major headaches

09/01/2001
Cathy Collings wanted to fire one of her employees, a state social worker, because he refused to license homosexuals as foster parents. The worker said that his religious beliefs prevented it. …

Manager’s insubordination wins protection

08/01/2001
Jane Foster had a tough decision: Follow the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or follow her boss’s orders. She went with the ADA and got fired. But a court has ruled …

Tell employee the complete reason for firing.

07/01/2001
Rodney Smith was told he was being fired from his probation officer’s job because he violated the employer’s drug and alcohol policy. In court, the county claimed Smith was fired for …

Unsigned contracts can lock you in

07/01/2001
After negotiations to open a new restaurant, a company gave chef Roland Schnider a final draft of a three-year employment agreement that covered salary, benefits, bonuses and an ownership interest in …

Get separate signature to enforce arbitration agreements

06/01/2001
When Lupe Romo filed suit after being fired, her employer argued that she had to take her complaint to arbitration. Reason: An agreement to arbitrate was part of the employee handbook, …

Requests for accommodation must be reasonable

06/01/2001
After an argument between Manuella Reed and a co-worker, her plant manager told Reed she should walk away from altercations and contact a supervisor. Months later, Reed got into a heated …