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Firing

No unemployment if jail prevents coming to work

11/19/2013
You can terminate an employee for missing work because he had to spend the night in jail. He won’t be eligible for unemployment benefits because the firing was for misconduct related to regular attendance.

Facebook posts earn Walmart employee the ax

11/14/2013
Walmart managers at the chain’s Hamburg store in suburban Buffalo moved quickly after the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations alerted it to anti-Islamic Facebook postings by one of its assistant managers.

When can you fire worker on maternity leave?

11/07/2013
Sometimes, it’s obvious that a new mother can’t (or won’t) return from maternity leave within any reasonable time frame. If her doctor can’t provide a definite return date, you can safely terminate her.

Consult lawyer before firing returning service member

10/31/2013
Members of the armed forces are protected from discharge for being called to duty. That includes those who must take short training leaves. Once released from brief active-duty periods, they must get their jobs back. Firing a returning service member without a solid reason may spark a lawsuit.

Kroger to pay $450,000 for disability bias in Plano

10/31/2013
A federal jury has awarded $450,000 to a mentally disabled former Kroger grocery store employee in Plano whose manager constantly insulted him. The EEOC filed a disability discrimination lawsuit on the employee’s behalf in 2012.

When bias claims fly, beware lenient courts

10/31/2013
Here’s an important factor to consider when terminating an employee who has recently complained about alleged discrimination of some sort: If she can show at least a tenuous connection between her complaint (like its timing) and her discharge, she will probably be able to proceed with her lawsuit.

Worried about firing the only minority? Just follow your own rules

10/30/2013
Sometimes, irrational fear of litigation keeps employers from acting in their own best interests. For example, they may think discharging the sole minority employee will mean a lawsuit. Don’t let paralysis by analysis slow you down.

Worker fired for lack of wheels is eligible for unemployment

10/29/2013
A former employee of Bell Sociali­­zation Services in York has won unemployment compensation benefits after she was fired for not having “reliable transportation.”

Remind managers: Discuss terminations only with those who need to know

10/17/2013

Loose lips can sink a lawsuit defense. Make sure your supervisors (and other HR staff) understand that they should only discuss employee terminations with people who truly need to know about it. That’s especially true in sensitive cases involving alleged fraud, theft or falsifications.

Good faith is good enough for discipline

10/10/2013
When you are investigating em­­ployee wrongdoing and deciding on discipline, you don’t have to get everything exactly right—as long as you act in good faith and aren’t trying to set up someone or use the disciplinary process as a pretext for discrimination.