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Terminations

IT administrator who planted ‘Logic bomb’ pleads guilty

11/01/2007

Yung-Hsun “Andy” Lin, a former systems administrator at Medco Health Solutions, pleaded guilty to planting a “logic bomb” on the company’s computer network because he suspected he was about to be laid off. The malicious software, a string of coding that would have wreaked havoc on the company’s systems, was set to detonate on Lin’s birthday …

Court: If employees hold the job, they’re ‘Qualified’

11/01/2007

Employers are finding it harder to get age discrimination cases dismissed early. They also are learning that beating age discrimination suits requires rock-solid evidence of fair and equal treatment—and a genuine, legitimate reason for discharging the employee that has nothing to do with age …

Can we deduct money owed from employee’s last paycheck?

11/01/2007

Q. An employee of ours owes the company about $450. He rented a car using our company charge card and never repaid us. Now he has submitted a resignation letter. Can we deduct the $450 from his final pay? …

Columbus cop quits following furor over YouTube tirade

11/01/2007

A Columbus patrol officer resigned after coming under fire for a series of hostile homemade videos she broadcast on the web site YouTube.com. In the videos, the officer and her sister called blacks, Jews, Cubans and illegal immigrants “filthy” and “scumbags” …

$15,000 convinces employee to drop complaint and leave

11/01/2007

A man who landed a job with the Penn-Harris-Madison (P-H-M) School Corp. after fleeing Hurricane Katrina has agreed to drop his race discrimination complaint in exchange for $15,000. As part of the agreement, the man will resign …

Circuit City sued for male-on-Male sexual harassment

11/01/2007

 Two male employees at a Circuit City store in Delaware County have filed a suit alleging their male manager engaged in a campaign of sexual harassment. It started with the manager tickling their palms with his middle finger, then escalated to unwanted shoulder massages, comments about oral sex and groping …

 

Prevent ‘Survivor syndrome’: Avoid turnover after layoffs

10/16/2007

Issue: After a round of layoffs, remaining employees will wonder "Who’s next?"
Risk: That insecurity can cause layoff survivors to "fire themselves" and seek greener pastures elsewhere.
Action: Don’t …

Supreme Court to hear important employment law case

10/02/2007

In a term that will be dominated by cases concerning Guantanamo detainees and the power of the Executive branch, the U.S. Supreme Court will also hear an important case involving employment discrimination.

Noncompete agreements in Indiana: When are they legal?

10/01/2007

Many Indiana employers wisely use noncompete agreements to protect their legitimate business interests in their customer base and trade secrets. But will those agreements stand up in court? While some employers have successfully used noncompetes, others don’t believe they’re worth the paper they’re printed on. Depending on how the noncompete is drafted, either can be true …

Is return to work after workers’ comp guaranteed?

10/01/2007

Q. An employee has been out for the past few months on workers’ comp. During his recovery, we placed someone else in his position. His replacement has performed better than the injured employee, and we want to keep the replacement. Do we have to return the original employee to his job following his return from workers’ comp leave? —R.P. …