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Terminations

AW North Carolina offers early-outs to entire staff

04/27/2009

Auto parts maker AW North Carolina has offered buyouts to all 1,100 employees at its Durham Treyburn Corporate Park location. The company is hoping 500 employees will accept the offers, leaving the supplier with a leaner workforce more in line with industry standards.

Don’t be afraid to terminate if manager can’t manage personal relationships

04/27/2009

Some people have more trouble than others managing personal relationships. When such a person has a supervisory role, the result can be disastrous. Don’t fear discharging a lousy manager based on what you observe or find out following an investigation.

Bias plaintiffs must suffer discrimination themselves

04/27/2009

Here’s an important thing to remember if your organization is hit with a series of discrimination cases: Even if some are legitimate, that doesn’t mean every member of a protected class can sue.

The ballad of Jamaal, Baule and Saul

04/27/2009

Jamaal Johnson, a GED instructor at Nash Community College, submitted a note from Dr. Raymond Baule stating he needed to miss two months of work. It didn’t offer a specific reason, and Baule was not a certified workers’ compensation physician.

Length of layoff: How long until it hurts your career?

04/27/2009

Being out of a job for an extended period no longer carries the stigma it once did for top managers, says a new Robert Half Management survey.

Plymouth House nursing home slammed for ‘bad faith’

04/22/2009

A federal jury has awarded $74,000 to Melissa Brown, a former food service director at Plymouth House nursing home in Plymouth Meeting, after the contractor employing her dismissed her when she sought maternity leave. But that was just the beginning …

Remind managers to note disability disclosures

04/22/2009

The ADA protects disabled employees from discrimination, but it’s up to the disabled employee to come forward. Employers can’t be expected to be clairvoyant. Smart employers find a way to track those disclosures. Here’s an example of why that’s important:

Make sure your investigations are thorough

04/22/2009

Employers have great leeway when it comes to discharging employees. But many employers get into trouble by failing to conduct a thorough and fair investigation. If the employee can prove the investigation was so cursory that it was just an excuse to cover up an illegal motivation such as age discrimination, the employer may lose big.

Verizon settles harassment suit filed by Pittsburgh woman

04/22/2009

Lissa Hannan, a Verizon employee in the Pittsburgh area, filed a complaint alleging a male contractor sexually harassed her. The company essentially put her on hold and then hung up. Ten days after she filed her complaint, Verizon fired Hannan. The company ended up agreeing to pay her $37,000 to settle the lawsuit.

Avoid ADA ‘regarded-as’ problems: Don’t mark ‘disabled’ on files

04/22/2009

Employers that “regard” people as disabled and then discriminate by firing them or refusing to hire them in the first place will face lawsuits—even if it turns out those applicants and employees aren’t actually disabled. That’s a key part of the ADA.