Terminations

Solid reasons for termination? Fire away!

05/06/2019

If you have compelling reasons to terminate someone and have carefully documented them, there’s really no reason to fear pulling the firing trigger. Just be sure to treat all similarly situated employees the same way.

Yes, you can terminate during FMLA leave

04/18/2019

You may find that some employees who suspect they are about to be disciplined suddenly ask for FMLA leave. They may cynically believe that taking FMLA leave protects them from discharge. It doesn’t.

Beware close timing between FMLA leave and discipline

04/15/2019

The closer a termination comes to the end of a worker’s FMLA leave, the more likely she may win an FMLA-retaliation lawsuit.

Fired harasser can’t collect unemployment

04/02/2019

If you have a robust harassment policy that prohibits even a single incident of unwanted touching, rest assured that a fired harasser won’t be eligible for unemployment benefits.

Beware firing after employee has asked for FMLA leave

04/02/2019

Terminating an employee for absenteeism after she’s requested FMLA leave is likely to trigger a lawsuit.

Justify layoffs by citing economic conditions

03/26/2019

Document why you need to lay off employees, especially if it’s because of economic reasons. It’s hard for a laid-off worker to argue discrimination if it’s obvious that fiscal realities forced job cuts.

Weigh all the risks of bringing criminal charges against terminated employee

03/26/2019

Sometimes employee misbehavior is so egregious that you’re tempted to call the police. But you should think twice before filing criminal charges against a former employee. Consider all the possible consequences.

Carefully document customer complaints if they might be used to justify termination

03/12/2019

If your employees can be terminated because of customer complaints, make sure you have a reliable method for tracking those complaints. Be sure to include as many details as possible.

Need to lay off older employee? You can do so without violating age discrimination laws

03/06/2019

Eliminating an older worker’s job doesn’t necessarily mean you are committing age discrimination—as long as you don’t replace the worker with someone substantially younger.

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.