• HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Terminations

Beware individual liability for wrongful terminations under Pennsylvania state law

03/03/2017
Under the Pennsylvania Human Rights Act, employees who are actively involved in termination decisions may be deemed personally liable for aiding and abetting violations of the law.

Termination? Consider offering severance in exchange for waiving right to sue

03/03/2017
Just letting an employee sign a resignation letter instead of being terminated won’t always prevent her from suing you.

Last chance agreements make firing safer

03/03/2017
A last chance agreement can help solidify a termination because it puts the employee subject to the agreement on different footing than other employees.

Before you fire, consider records you will need if sued

02/17/2017
Whenever you fire someone, consider that he or she might sue you. Be prepared to show that the employee’s punishment was comparable to that of other employees who broke the same rule.

Willful misconduct bars unemployment

02/17/2017
An important reminder: Willful misconduct can bar a former employee from receiving unemployment benefits.

Lie on application? No unemployment benefits

02/17/2017
Employees caught lying on their employment applications about their educational level may not be entitled to unemployment compensation benefits.

3rd Circuit on RIFs: ADEA lets subgroups of older workers bring class-actions

02/01/2017
The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has approved sub-dividing groups of older workers so some may bring age discrimination claims even if the layoffs overall did not generally discriminate against older workers.

Be sure you can document why you fired ‘good’ worker

01/23/2017
Think twice before terminating a worker who has earned consistently good performance reviews.

Keep detailed records that document employee’s poor work

01/23/2017
State unemployment officials and courts are much more likely to be persuaded by a detailed record than the worker’s mere assertion that she was doing her job just fine.

Keep good records to justify every termination

01/11/2017
It is crucial to plan as if every termination will be challenged.