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Terminations

Employment law 101: Beware firing immediately after employee returns from FMLA leave

11/05/2010
If you terminate an employee the day he comes back from FMLA leave, plan on getting sued. Timing alone can be enough for the court to let a jury decide the case. That’s true even if your past practices in similar cases don’t show any pattern of FMLA interference.

New hire a dud? Have hiring manager fire

11/05/2010
Here’s a practice you should make standard operating procedure: Have the same manager who makes hiring decisions also make the firing decisions. Doing so will cut the chances of a successful discrimination lawsuit.

New employee a dud? Give the early hook without heading to court

11/02/2010

Sometimes it’s obvious from the get-go that a new hire just isn’t working out. You must dismiss him, the sooner the better. When the employee is a member of a protected class, who does the firing can make all the difference between a clean break and a messy discrimination lawsuit.

Fire blatant rule-breakers–even ‘top producers’

11/01/2010

Some employees think that being the best employee in a division or company means not having to follow the rules. That isn’t true and can be downright damaging to morale. If you decide to fire the employee because of disruptive and uncooperative behavior, don’t worry that he’ll win a lawsuit just by virtue of productivity.

Former Bells bank worker files age discrimination suit

11/01/2010
A former employee of First Bells Bankshares in Bells, north of Dallas, has filed a discrimination lawsuit alleging that the Texas bank fired her after she refused to be demoted.

If absenteeism not disability-related, feel free to discipline

11/01/2010

You should hold disabled employees to the same behavioral standards as other employees, unless there is a good disability-related reason to deviate from the rules. For example, if you set strict time limits for lunches and authorized breaks, there is no reason to give disabled employees more time unless allowing more time is a legitimate reasonable accommodation.

East Texas nursing home gets a pregnancy checkup

11/01/2010

The EEOC has sued an East Texas health care company for firing a housekeeper after learning she was pregnant. The federal agency sued Murphy Healthcare, which operates Frankston Healthcare Center, for firing Myesha Kerr, allegedly because it was concerned that she would be required to perform heavy lifting and be exposed to toxic chemicals.

If reorg cuts jobs, check for inadvertent bias

11/01/2010

Is your organization planning big changes that could result in layoffs? You may have no choice. But a poorly planned and implemented layoff can cost more than it saves if it invites lawsuits. That’s why it’s important to check for potential race bias or other discrimination before making final decisions.

Tell bosses: Never urge workers to retire

11/01/2010
If an older employee has to be terminated, the fact that a boss had hinted that the worker should retire will make it easier to persuade a court that age was the real motivating reason for the discharge.

Use absenteeism points to avoid favoritism

11/01/2010

When employees are fired for absenteeism, they may be quick to point to unequal treatment, saying other workers kept their jobs but were absent more often. One way to avoid such claims is to install a point system to punish absenteeism, terminating employees who accumulate too many points.