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Firing

No separate emotional distress claims if conduct is covered by IHRA

04/01/2008
Employees and their lawyers are always looking for ways to increase the damages they can extract from employers that make mistakes. Fortunately, they can’t heap additional claims on top of a basic claim made on similar grounds under the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA). If the IHRA provides a remedy, that’s the only one available for the same basic claim …

Sleeping on the job may mean no unemployment benefits

04/01/2008
Under the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act, terminated employees are not eligible to receive unemployment compensation benefits if they are discharged for “misconduct.” Misconduct is a deliberate and willful violation of a reasonable work rule or policy. But what about an employee who unintentionally violates a rule or policy? …

Are we allowed to punish employees whose wages are assigned?

04/01/2008
Q. I’m suspicious of employees who can’t handle their own financial affairs. Frankly, I’d rather not have irresponsible people working here. Can I fire an employee whose wages are assigned? …

Termination after maternity leave may violate the FMLA

04/01/2008
Not every employee wants to take FMLA leave, and employers sometimes don’t designate paid time off as FMLA time. But an employee doesn’t have to request FMLA leave in order to be protected by the law. That means you can’t refuse to reinstate an employee when she returns from leave. Doing so would amount to interference with the right to FMLA leave …

Using an arbitration agreement? Keep detailed records of employee acceptance

04/01/2008
If you use an arbitration agreement or have any other contract-based arrangements with employees, make sure the company keeps all records showing when and how the agreement was presented or signed. You may need that information many years later …

Remedy for discrimination can include neutral references and contact reporting

04/01/2008
Employees who win discrimination lawsuits against their former employers sometimes are entitled to more than money. In the right circumstances, they are entitled to other things to make them “whole” again, including positive references, notice when a prospective employer contacts the former employer and changes to the separation notice …

Half of employers have fired staff for online abuses

04/01/2008
More than a quarter of employers say they’ve fired employees for misusing e-mail, and one-third have fired workers for misusing the Internet, according to an annual American Management Association survey …

Dilbert and the drunken lemurs

04/01/2008
The Catfish Bend Casino in Iowa fired David Steward recently after surveillance video showed that Steward posted a Dilbert comic strip on an office bulletin board.  The comic strip implied the company’s bosses were a bunch of “drunken lemurs.” …

How many no-Show days equal ‘Job abandonment’?

04/01/2008
Q. How many days does an employee have to report his absence (no show, no call) before we can terminate him for job abandonment? — W.L., Wisconsin …

Handling a disability claim: step by step

04/01/2008
Q. We recently terminated an employee who couldn’t get his work done on time (and basically couldn’t sit still). He had told his supervisor before that he had attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but that wasn’t taken into consideration. Now he’s threatening to sue. Are we at risk, and should we settle? — A.L., Connecticut …