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Firing

Feel free to alter jobs to suit business needs

11/05/2008

Employers have the right to meet business needs by changing the jobs their employees do, and they can set the minimum qualifications for any new positions they create. It’s the company’s prerogative to then decide whether to replace existing employees with others who meet the requirements.

Can you legally search a worker’s locked desk?

11/04/2008

Employees may think of “their” desks as their own private domains—safe places to keep their own things literally under lock and key. However, employers do have the right to open that locked drawer. When the desk is in an open area shared with other employees, the employee with the key doesn’t have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Thorough and confidential investigation is best HR response when harassment strikes

11/04/2008

It’s bound to happen. An employee will complain about supposed sexual harassment and you will have to investigate. How you handle that investigation could make the difference between winning a retaliation lawsuit and losing it—big time. Here’s the best approach:

Warning: Even legit firing can lead to lawsuit

11/04/2008

You’d think terminating someone for obviously gross misconduct and behavior that was simply unacceptable would be a slam-dunk. No chance such an employee could bring a lawsuit, right? Wrong. There’s always the potential for a discrimination suit …

Beware bigger penalties for wage-and-hour claims under N.J. whistle-blower law

10/27/2008

Employees and their lawyers are always looking for more ways to wring money out of employers that make mistakes. The latest trend in wage-and-hour cases, for example, is to file an FLSA lawsuit and then seek to collect additional damages by tacking on additional claims under New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act. Here’s how …

Just taking leave doesn’t mean employee is disabled

10/27/2008

Employees ask for and take medical leave for all sorts of reasons. That doesn’t mean their employers know when an employee is disabled. But that doesn’t stop some employees from trying to use their leave as evidence in a discrimination lawsuit …

New employee obviously not working out? Let hiring manager be the one who terminates

10/24/2008

Sometimes, it becomes clear early on that it was a mistake to hire that new employee. If it doesn’t look as though things will improve, it’s a good idea to let the same manager who recommended hiring the employee also be the one to fire her. That makes the termination decision much easier to defend if there’s any question about possible discrimination.

N.C. workers can cite ‘public policy’ violations in wrongful discharge cases

10/24/2008

Although North Carolina is an at-will employment state—that is, employees can be fired for any reason or no reason at all as long as it is not a reason prohibited by law—that doesn’t mean that there aren’t exceptions. One of those is the so-called “public policy” exception, which allows employees to sue for wrongful discharge if their firings violate North Carolina public policy.

Track discipline by protected characteristics

10/24/2008

Poor performers who think they have been discriminated against when fired, demoted or otherwise disciplined can still win a lawsuit—if they can show that others outside their protected class were just as lousy but didn’t receive the same discipline. Be ready to defend yourself with solid, carefully documented proof…

Ethics battle rages as Election Day approaches

10/24/2008

State Auditor Les Merritt has released a preliminary report concluding that the State Ethics Commission is “hiding facts from the public” regarding its termination of commission office assistant Amanda Thaxton and a related investigation into whether it gave Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue preferential treatment …