Terminations

Good faith is good enough for discipline

10/10/2013

When you are investigating employee wrongdoing and deciding on discipline, you don’t have to get everything exactly right—as long as you act in good faith and aren’t trying to set up someone or use the disciplinary process as a pretext for discrimination.

Develop foolproof plan for taking uncertainty out of ambiguous resignations

10/10/2013

Not sure what to do when it seems as if an employee is going to quit, but she doesn’t explicitly say so? Seek clarification. If you get none, tell her you assume her silence is tantamount to a resignation.

Firing for ‘dishonesty’? Offer specifics about what happened

10/09/2013

Like most employers, you probably have general rules about what constitutes a firing offense—and “dishonesty” is probably on the list of no-no’s. It’s a vague term, subject to interpretation. That’s a good reason to make your disciplinary records specific.

Honest investigation all that’s required

10/09/2013

Do you sometimes worry that you made a mistake during an investigation? Or that you believed the wrong person? You needn’t lose sleep over it. Courts won’t second-guess your decisions if they believe you acted reasonably and in good faith.

Fired for death threats? No unemployment for you!

10/08/2013

A Commonwealth Court has ruled that a Ridgway man who was fired for threatening his bosses can’t collect unemployment benefits.

Termination pay: Know your state law on when to deliver the last paycheck

10/07/2013

Contrary to what some workers believe, no federal law requires employers to deliver final paychecks on the employee’s way out the door. Some states, however, do require paying the employee immediately or within a certain number of days.

What rules must we follow if we must lay off work-visa employees?

10/02/2013

Q. Do we have any duties or obligations if we discharge employees who are in the United States on work visas?

Get rid of bad apples! Act fast to fire worker who won’t stop slurs despite warnings

10/02/2013

What should you do when an employee keeps spouting offensive racial slurs despite repeated warnings to stop? Fire her before she says or does something that leads to a lawsuit.

Elevator company settles with shafted employee

10/01/2013

Schindler Elevator Corp. has agreed to settle an EEOC race discrimination lawsuit filed after it laid off a black elevator mechanic from its Charlotte office, even though he was rated higher than almost all his white co-workers who were retained.

Consider alternatives to cash severance

09/30/2013

If you offer severance packages to terminated employees, don’t assume they’ll only settle for a lump sum of cash. With the economy still recovering and uncertainty simmering over health care reform implementation, employees are choosing less severance pay and more benefits.