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Terminations

Don’t take malingering employee’s bait: Calling in sick shouldn’t trigger FMLA query

02/13/2012

Some employees believe all they have to do to invoke FMLA leave protection is call in sick and wait for their employer to request medical certification. Wrong! Merely calling in sick doesn’t trigger any employer obligations under the FMLA.

Beware ‘aggravated misconduct’ firings–unemployment benefits hang in the balance

02/09/2012
Employees who commit “aggravated misconduct” and are terminated may not be eligible for unemployment compensation benefits. Therefore, some employers may assume that when an employee is arrested and charged with a felony related to work, it makes sense to fire the employee. Not necessarily.

Warn managers: Angry statements could cause defamation, slander lawsuits

02/09/2012
When training managers and supervisors on how to treat subordinates, make sure they understand they should never make any belligerent statements that could be interpreted as defamation or slander.

Quit over offensive graffiti? He can get unemployment

02/03/2012
Here’s another reason to act fast when an employee complains about offensive graffiti in the workplace: He can quit and collect unemployment compensation benefits.

Court won’t second-guess good-faith firing decisions

02/03/2012
Don’t agonize over terminating an employee for misconduct. You can be wrong about the underlying facts as long as you acted in good faith when making the firing decision.

You can terminate someone on FMLA leave–as long as reason has nothing to do with FMLA

02/03/2012
Some employees mistakenly believe that if they take FMLA leave, they can’t be terminated. That’s not true. The FMLA regulations even allow employers to fire employees on FMLA leave before they return—if they can show the termination was unrelated to leave.

Warn bosses: No disparaging military service

02/03/2012
If a member of the National Guard or reserves is terminated, he or she can use the statement to show that military service was a motivating factor in that termination. That’s all that’s required under USERRA.

Beware defamation claims based on discipline write-ups

02/02/2012

Remind supervisors and managers to stick with verifiable and documented facts when writing up an employee for poor performance, a mistake or other disciplinary matter. That’s because a false write-up could be grounds for a later defamation lawsuit.

Use objective measures to make firing decisions

02/01/2012
If you terminate subpar workers, it goes without saying that you must be prepared to show they were, in fact, poor performers. Do so by using objective performance measures. Let the facts and figures speak for themselves.

OK to insist on initial retirement request

02/01/2012
When an employer doesn’t have a set policy on whether an employee can change his mind about retiring, refusing to rescind a retirement request isn’t enough to support a discrimination or retaliation lawsuit.