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Firing

This just in: Don’t fire employee for taking FMLA leave

09/05/2008

It seems pretty obvious you can’t legally fire an employee because she took FMLA leave. Every employer knows that, right? Perhaps not. Recently, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals had to rule on the question when an employer hoped to get a definitive ruling that employees are entitled to leave, but can be fired for using that leave …

Progressive discipline best approach with problem employee

09/05/2008

Some employees may believe their co-workers and supervisors are out to get them because of race, sex or some other protected characteristic. Then they look for evidence to support those beliefs. They catalog every slight for future reference—maybe in a lawsuit. Your best defense against such litigation is a well-established progressive discipline system …

‘No regrets’ over splash heard ’round the world

09/05/2008

Maybe the most disturbing aspect of Timothy Tackett’s now infamous bath in the utility sink of the Xenia Burger King where he worked is how quickly the video footage of it proliferated on the Internet …

Duke Energy settles suit

09/05/2008

Duke Energy Corp. has reached a private settlement with John Deeds, a former employee who claimed he was fired in retaliation for questioning millions of dollars in payments that he considered kickbacks to corporate clients …

Woodmere Village settles reverse discrimination suit

09/05/2008

Woodmere Village in northeastern Ohio has settled an EEOC lawsuit with two police officers who claimed they were fired because they are white …

Enforce discrimination rules to avoid NYC’s sky-high penalties

09/03/2008

New York City employers, beware: The sky may be the limit for discrimination damage awards. Federal law limits punitive damage awards in Title VII discrimination lawsuits to no more than $300,000 for large employers. New York state law doesn’t allow them at all. But the New York City Administrative Code discrimination provisions allow juries to award unlimited punitive damages …

Rochester paralegal’s job goes up in smoke

09/03/2008

The Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, upheld the firing of Karen Kridel, a former paralegal with Dibble & Miller, PC, in Rochester, for taking smoking breaks. Kridel customarily took two five-minute breaks from her work each day to smoke …

Supreme Court rules CHRA sole state discrimination remedy

09/02/2008

The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that employees who want to sue for most kinds of employment discrimination under Texas state law must use the provisions of the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act. They can’t sue under the Texas Whistleblower Act in an effort to sidestep the CHRA’s rather complex procedures or miss its short filing deadlines …

Don’t sugarcoat reason for termination

09/02/2008

Sometimes, you just know that the reason a supervisor offers in a memo or e-mail for wanting to fire someone is going to look suspicious if the employee ever sues. If you can’t persuade the supervisor to reconsider, resist the temptation to help sugarcoat the situation with a neutral-sounding reason. It will only make matters worse when the employee’s lawyer inevitably discovers the memo or e-mail …

Handle with care if older employee’s performance slips

09/02/2008
When some employees approach retirement, they begin to coast. They may think that there’s no way their employer will let them go at their age, assuming management will be afraid of an Age Discrimination in Employment case. The truth is, that worker isn’t untouchable. Here’s how to handle the situation when you discover the employee is still coming to work but has mentally retired …