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Firing

Man loses sexual harassment suit against DHS

04/09/2008
A federal jury rejected a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) by Carlos Estes, a former employee who claimed he was fired for refusing his boss’s sexual advances …

Spa manager’s personal style rubbed staff the wrong way

04/09/2008
Lisa Cristia worked as a massage therapist and later as a department manager for Red Door Spa in Chicago. She was fired for breaching the company’s rules of conduct, including using her position as a manager to coerce and harass employees. Cristia sued, alleging disability discrimination …

Are noncompetes enforceable on employees who have been fired?

04/09/2008
Q. In Illinois, do noncompete agreements apply even when someone is terminated, as opposed to resigning? …

Tell managers: Unless you have notes, you can’t terminate

04/08/2008
The quickest way for an employer to get into big trouble is to retaliate against an employee who files a discrimination charge. Any negative employment action after the charge is filed may mean an additional lawsuit. Instruct managers to document any alleged poor performance—and make sure they use only objective, concrete measures …

Computer policy should allow some personal use

04/08/2008
You can punish employees who abuse computer use as long as you do so consistently. But recognize that some abuses are obviously worse than others. Someone who spends company time bidding on eBay may be due a reprimand. But someone who forwards risqué or racist jokes should receive more severe discipline, up to and including discharge …

Discharged for moonlighting? Former employee may not be eligible for unemployment

04/08/2008
If you discharge an employee who has been moonlighting, and he or she continues to work on the side, the moonlighting income may make the former employee ineligible for unemployment compensation …

Charging falsification? Make sure you can back up claim

04/07/2008
Employees who don’t follow company rules should be disciplined and possibly terminated. But employers must make sure they can back up their claims. Otherwise, they may face lawsuits if the fired employees belong to a protected class …

Mandatory firing after year’s absence doesn’t violate ADA requirements

04/07/2008
Does your organization have a blanket policy that limits time off for any reason to no more than 12 consecutive months? If you apply that policy evenhandedly, you don’t have to worry that it violates the ADA’s requirement that you provide reasonable accommodations …

That ain’t chicken feed: High grain costs bite poultry giant

04/07/2008
Pilgrim’s Pride Corp.—based in Pittsburg, Texas, and one of the nation’s largest poultry growers—will close a plant and six distribution centers because of rising feed costs. Blame it on the growth of alternative fuels …

A good reference for a good worker, even though we fired him?

04/07/2008
Q. We had to fire a good worker because of absenteeism problems. When someone who wants to hire him calls to verify past employment, what can we say about this man? …