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Firing

Spontaneous wage protest: Can we fire the agitator who stirred up his co-workers?

05/25/2015
Q. We are a nonunion company with a call center employee who has been stirring things up. Recently, he and a large group of first-shift employees stayed in the parking lot instead of coming back from lunch on time. A few of them held up signs saying, “Fair Wages Now!” We’d like to fire the bad apple. Are we taking any big risks if we do?

Provide full info to termination consultants

05/07/2015
Outside consultants who specialize in the tricky business of terminations can help small employers when it’s time to let go of an individual employee or implement a larger layoff. But before you act on outside advice, do make sure you provide all the relevant information to the consultant.

Can you fire employee for threatening suicide?

05/05/2015
What should you do if you learn one of your employees brandished a gun and threatened suicide, but a doctor released him back to work? Shouldn’t you be concerned about safety? Let’s examine a recent case.

Use last-chance agreement so you and your employee can push reset button at work

04/29/2015
In cases where you may be concerned about a lawsuit over firing an employee, consider instead a last-change agreement. Think of it as hitting the reset button. Both the employer and the employee have one last chance to save the relationship.

Get the Most Out of Exit Interviews

04/25/2015
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Employee has to miss work for jury duty: Am I allowed to terminate him?

04/13/2015
Q. One of my employees has informed me that she received a jury duty summons and must be absent from work to serve. Can I discharge my employee for being absent from work while serving as a juror?

Fire away if employee says bullet ‘has your name on it’

04/09/2015
To prevent violence at work, many employers prohibit even indirect threats. That’s perfectly legal.

Accepting suspension doesn’t equal admission of guilt

04/01/2015
Employees who lose their jobs be­­­­cause of willful misconduct aren’t eligible for unemployment benefits. But whether misconduct occurred can be called into question by any agreement the employer and employee may have signed calling for a suspension instead of termination.

Think long and hard before firing harassment victim for fighting back

04/01/2015
Sometimes, an employee may feel as if she has no viable option except to fight back against a bully or harasser. That puts you, as the employer, in a difficult spot. Do you launch a full-scale investigation, try to sort out which employee is telling the truth and then fire the one you believe most culpable? If that’s the employee who physically struck the other, you may be making the wrong choice.

Document who made firing decision … and why

03/30/2015
Courts want to know exactly who decided the employee should be terminated, as well as the rationale.