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Firing

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 …

What’s the quid pro quo on noncompete agreements?

10/24/2008

Q. We want current employees to sign noncompete agreements. If we do not offer an employee something of value in exchange for signing the agreement, is it against the law to terminate the employee? If we offer something of value, and the employee refuses to sign, can we terminate the employee? …

PERA doesn’t permit private harassment suits

10/22/2008

Recently, attorneys have been trying out a different tactic when employees have waited too long to file sexual harassment and other discrimination claims under either the federal Title VII or the Pennsylvania Human Rights Act.  They’ve tried suing the employer under the Pennsylvania Equal Rights Amendment. Now the Pennsylvania Superior Court has nixed that avenue …

If FMLA is issue, log time of firing decision

10/22/2008

Employers that can show they had decided to terminate an employee before they knew he needed FMLA leave aren’t liable for interfering with that leave. But don’t think you won’t be challenged on your timing. That’s why you must make sure you can prove exactly when you made the decision …

OK to fire employee who lies about FMLA absence

10/22/2008

Employees sometimes don’t want to give their employers personal details about an illness or a condition that may be covered by the FMLA. But if you find out they lied about the nature of their health problems, you can fire them for violating your honesty policy.

Government workers’ ‘free speech’ might be nothing more than insubordination

10/22/2008

Public employees are protected from being fired for exercising their right to free speech—but government agencies still have the right to manage their workforces. Those rights may clash when a public employee complains about how she is supposed to do her job …

Pittsburgh hospital hostile to the sick, EEOC lawsuit claims

10/22/2008

The EEOC has filed a lawsuit against LifeCare Hospitals of Pittsburgh, a pioneer in caring for those with long-term acute illnesses, for turning its back on an employee who developed cancer …

Johnstown-area workers tilt at Spanish windmill company

10/22/2008

Kevin Wagner, Paul McElhenny and Rick Williams are suing Gamesa/Fiberblade, a Spanish manufacturer of wind turbines, for allegedly replacing them with younger workers and those from Spain …

Act fast and fairly to investigate when employee complains of hostile work environment

10/21/2008

No matter how hard you work to make sure your workplace is a model of fairness and civility, you can’t rule out the possibility that an employee will come to HR with a claim that she’s being forced to work in a racially or sexually hostile environment. How you handle that complaint may make the difference between nipping an ugly problem in the bud and paying a huge jury award.

Keep detailed records on disciplinary process

10/21/2008

Far too often, careless employers lose lawsuits they should have won, especially when it comes to terminations. Here’s why: Some fired employees will sue for discrimination, and they have to show that you treated them differently because of some protected characteristic such as race, gender or age …