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Firing

Cut slack on notification requirement when emergency clearly signals FMLA need

09/08/2010
When it comes to FMLA leave, many employers have internal procedures that are somewhat stricter than those specified in the FMLA. That doesn’t mean, however, that employers shouldn’t be flexible under emergency circumstances. Holding an employee to an impossible requirement won’t fly with courts.

Check for good faith if ‘whistle-blower’ sues

09/08/2010
The Texas Whistleblower Act creates a presumption that anyone terminated or otherwise disciplined within 90 days of whistle-blowing was punished for reporting the violation. That’s why whistle-blowing can look like an attractive safeguard for an employee who is already facing potential discipline. Fortunately, the employee has to make a good-faith report before the law’s protection kicks in.

How to head off race bias lawsuits: Have the hiring manager also handle firing

09/03/2010

Common sense says that if a manager hires someone knowing that she belongs to a protected class, the manager probably won’t turn around a few months later and fire the new employee because she belongs to that protected class. That’s why you should make it a policy that the same managers who make hiring decisions also make termination decisions.

Moonlighting on company time: Can we get tough?

09/02/2010
Q. One of our employees has received glowing reviews for 10 years, but she’s been working on her personal business on company time for the past two years. The employee’s supervisor never addressed this issue in writing, and now her new supervisor wants to fire her without any documentation or counseling. Can the supervisor do this without any expectation of “trouble” from the employee?

Was N.Y. union staffer fired for trying to organize a union?

09/01/2010

Until recently, Jim Callaghan was a writer for the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), the union that represents New York City teachers and that has made its name by actively opposing city officials’ power to fire teachers without due process. Now Callaghan is claiming UFT employees have no such protection themselves. He says he was fired after he began looking into unionizing UFT editorial employees.

Santa hat leads to lawsuit against Raleigh Belk store

08/27/2010
A Jehovah’s Witness was fired from her job at a Belk department store in Raleigh after she refused to wear a Santa hat while wrapping Christmas gifts. She told her supervisors that wearing the Santa hat would violate her religious beliefs. The EEOC asserts Belk violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by refusing to accommodate her religious beliefs.

Upside of unions: No suing for wrongful termination

08/27/2010
In North Carolina, union employees have to use their contracts to pursue claims they were unfairly fired. They can’t do what at-will employees can do—sue for wrongful termination.

Track rationale for all discipline decisions

08/27/2010

Employees who sue for discrimination usually have to show they were punished more harshly than other employees outside their protected class. Counter such claims with specifics. While you may have punished 10 employees this year for breaking the same rule, chances are that each case was unique—and that you made the punishment fit the crime. That’s fine.

Fired for dozing, employee may still get unemployment

08/27/2010
Don’t expect to escape unemployment compensation liability if you fire someone for sleeping on the job. If the reason is an underlying medical condition, the employee may be able to prove she wasn’t fired for cause.

Positive drug test? Get worker to admit drug use, too

08/27/2010
Here’s a step you can take to guard against challenges to your drug-testing procedures. When you tell an employee he failed the test, get him to admit he used drugs. That can ensure he doesn’t receive unemployment compensation.