Resignations

‘Resign or be fired’: Humane offer or a risky ultimatum?

03/24/2014

Have you ever presented an employee the option to resign or get fired? Doing so today just may fall under the no-good-deed-goes-unpunished category. As this new ruling shows, such ultimatums might ultimately give you ulcers in court under the “ultimatum theory” of liability …

Must we hand over final paycheck, or is it OK to put it in the mail?

02/26/2014

Q. One of our employees is resigning at the end of the month. Can we mail her final paycheck?

Simple personality clash is no reason to quit

02/19/2014

Employees can sometimes receive unemployment benefits even if they quit, but they must have good cause. Mere dissatisfaction doesn’t count.

Can we fire worker who gave notice and promptly started slacking off?

02/05/2014

Q. One of our employees gave us a two-week notice because he found another job. However, now the employee is unmotivated and not focused on his work. Can we let him go before the two-week period is up?

Constructive Discharge

01/17/2014

HR Law 101: Some supervisors try to skirt the whole issue of firing someone by resorting to constructive discharge. Their logic: If we make an employee’s time at work so intolerable, he or she will choose to resign. That’s an unwise strategy …

Coatesville superintendent, AD resign over racist texts

11/27/2013

The Coatesville Area School District superintendent and athletic director have both resigned after bigoted text messages between the two came to light when a technician transferred their data to new employer-provided phones.

Save money upon termination by including ‘use it or lose it’ leave policy in handbook

10/30/2013

Here’s another reason your handbook must include clear, concise and specific explanations of vacation and other leave policies: By carefully explaining that employees who quit forfeit unused leave, you won’t have to pay them for that unused time under the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act.

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.

San Diego’s mayor resigns, settles sexual harassment claim

09/27/2013

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner has resigned after settling sexual harassment claims against him.

Not wrongful discharge: ‘You can’t fire me, I quit!’

05/31/2013

Good news: A court has cut off one path to a wrongful discharge case in North Carolina. While courts have allowed claims of wrongful discharge in violation of public policy, such lawsuits actually require that the employer fire the employee rather than merely threaten to do so.