• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Terminations

No absolute requirement to notify laid-off workers that their jobs are open again

02/22/2019
Sometimes, workers who are laid off are told they’re eligible for rehire. But absent a specific promise to call if there’s a job opening, employees can’t wait months or years to complain about discrimination when they discover the job was open and someone else filled it.

Go to jail, get fired, collect unemployment anyway

01/31/2019
Employees who engage in misconduct generally aren’t eligible for unemployment benefits. But that doesn’t mean a blanket rule that calls for firing anyone who is incarcerated will automatically rule out unemployment compensation.

Document precise reason for termination

01/02/2019
Detailed documentation is your best defense if a fired employee sues for discrimination. You will be able to show that your reasons were not motivated by bias.

Employee’s decision to file lawsuit in justice court may backfire

12/04/2018
A worker can’t add additional claims to her case on appeal that go over the dollar limit for justice court cases.

Always record the date when you made a decision to fire

12/04/2018
Do you note the date and time of every termination decision? If not, you should.

Be sure to document reasons that led to your decision to terminate

12/04/2018
No matter how fair you have been, always assume an employee who has been disciplined will sue, alleging some form of discrimination. Be prepared!

Many reasons for firing? Document them all

11/14/2018
When terminating a worker, you don’t need to give her an exhaustive list of offenses. However, you should internally document all the reasons for firing her, in case you need to offer them as evidence later.

Employee doesn’t return after FMLA runs out? OK to fire for violating attendance policy

11/14/2018
If for some reason an employee doesn’t return to work at the end of his FMLA entitlement, then the employer is free to enforce a no-show, voluntary-quit rule based on the absences.

Feel free to consider past discipline when rehiring staff you previously laid off

11/13/2018
When workers apply for other, open positions that they’re at least marginally qualified for, their past disciplinary history may be a good reason to not rehire them.

Document time of performance problems in case employee registers bogus complaints

11/06/2018
Employees who face discipline sometimes fight back with their own discrimination complaints. Terminating such an employee shortly afterward can look suspiciously like the complaint precipitated the discipline. The best way to prevent that impression is to carefully document the reasons for the disciplinary meeting in the first place.