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Firing

Take fast action to investigate apparent rogue supervisor

09/19/2008

There’s no substitute for boots on the ground when it comes to protecting employees from supervisors with hidden discriminatory agendas. If you ignore the warning signs of supervisor bias and leave the “bad boss” in place, it’s probably just a matter of time before you find yourself responding to a lawsuit …

Public employees must file USERRA claims in state court

09/19/2008

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has limited the way state employees can sue the agencies where they work for violating their rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). State employees can’t go to federal court with their claims. Instead, they must sue in state court …

Employing agency determines where public employees’ whistle-blower suits will be heard

09/19/2008

The California Supreme Court has ruled that when and how state employees can file whistle-blower lawsuits depends on which agency they work for. For example, regular state employees can sue if they first ask for a ruling from the State Personnel Board …

Document poor work to make sure firing sticks

09/15/2008
Jerilyn Lucas, a bank branch manager, seemed to be in over her head. She struggled with basic operational matters. Her staff began complaining that she frequently missed work. Lucas’ supervisors repeatedly warned her about her performance. When the bank eventually fired her , she sued …

Bigfoot in his mouth: Officer loses job over fraudulent story

09/15/2008
Officer Matt Whitton of the Clayton County Police Department lost more than his credibility when his amazing “Bigfoot” discovery turned out to be a soggy polyester ape costume. The moment the news reached Police Chief Jeffery Turner, he fired Whitton …

Don’t overlook fresh evidence that the employee you fired deserved to go

09/12/2008
Sometimes, employers fire employees for the wrong reasons and end up in litigation. Then, while preparing to defend against the wrongful-termination case, they discover other—perhaps even better—reasons to have terminated the employee. Make sure your attorneys know about the new evidence …

Justice Dept. report: Rumors cost U.S. attorneys’ jobs

09/12/2008
A report from the U.S. Department of Justice’s inspector general indicated that Margaret Chiara, former U.S. attorney in Grand Rapids, and former federal prosecutor Leslie Hagen may have been fired during the term of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales because of false rumors the women were romantically involved …

Ludington librarian’s book hits too close to home

09/12/2008
Sally Stern-Hamilton was fired from her job as a library assistant in the Ludington library after writing a book titled Library Diaries.  Stern-Hamilton used a pen name and called the book fiction, but the cover featured a picture of the Ludington library. Promotional copy invited readers to “meet the naked patron, the greedy, unenlightened patrons …"

Did old rap sheet lead to firing and another appearance in court?

09/12/2008
Sometimes it takes awhile for a company to find out how well an employee is going to work out. For example, it took Guardian Alarm Company of Michigan 21 years to figure out that Ronald Schocker wasn’t a good fit. Now a judge has said, “Wait a minute!”

Fire employees who take FMLA leave? Yes, with reason

09/10/2008
Employees sometimes think taking FMLA leave gives them special protection. Some may even attempt to go out on leave when they know they are about to get into trouble at work. Don’t fall into that trap. The fact is, if you would have fired the employee even if she had never taken FMLA leave, you can do so if she has taken leave …