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Firing

Can you fire someone for his online (but off-Duty) actions?

03/01/2008
The Internet has created a whole new pond for employment lawyers to fish in. But you’re not powerless to your employees’ embarrassing—and potentially illegal—online activities. You can discipline employees who go over the line. You should specify what off-duty activity is prohibited in terms of unbecoming, immoral or illegal behavior …

Must employees receive a warning before termination?

03/01/2008

If employees are at-will workers, you can fire them for any reason or no reason at all, as long as it’s not discriminatory. But, as a new ruling shows, supervisors should resist that quick-trigger urge if that employee recently voiced a discrimination complaint …

Fighting at work: Fire one, both or neither?

03/01/2008

Q. Two of our employees got into a fight. One had a weapon, the other didn’t. The unarmed person wound up in the hospital. His supervisor told the injured employee to get better and come back to work. But the owner doesn’t want either back. Can we fire the injured employee without any future problems? —M.R., New Jersey …

Making demands while employee is on disability leave

03/01/2008
Q. We have an employee on disability leave because she had dental reconstructive surgery due to oral cancer. Shortly after her return, her supervisor gave her a deadline to get her backlogged work done. It may not be a realistic deadline. If we discharge her, can we be in legal trouble? — Anonymous …

360° evaluations help when charge is ‘Failure to get along’

03/01/2008
Courts are naturally suspicious when employers trot out subjective discharge reasons like “not a team player” or “fails to inspire subordinates,” which may mask an underlying discriminatory attitude. One way to add credibility to subjective evaluation criteria is to ask co-workers and subordinates for their confidential assessments …

Wal-Mart faces suit over workplace romance

03/01/2008
A former department manager at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Woodland, Clearfield County, is suing the company for gender discrimination after she was fired for having a relationship with an employee …

Getting reimbursed for terminated employees’ personal calls

03/01/2008
Q. A recently discharged employee exceeded his monthly allotment of minutes for personal calls on his company-issued cell phone. Can we recoup the cost of these extra minutes by withholding the amount from his paycheck? …

Former boxing commish alleges retaliation, says he was fired for speaking out

03/01/2008
Larry Hazzard Sr., former New Jersey Athletic Control Board commissioner, has filed a whistle-blower lawsuit against state Attorney General Anne Milgram. Hazzard says he was fired from his position on the board, which oversees boxing in Atlantic City, for reporting legal and safety-related violations …

Winning lawsuit no slam-Dunk when firing follows romance

03/01/2008
You will probably never be able to eliminate the downside risks of sexual relationships at work, no matter how many policies you draft. So what should HR do to prevent turmoil once a relationship has ended? Generally, the best policy is to leave well enough alone …

No longer adrift: State employment laws may apply on water, too

03/01/2008
Employees who work on Indiana waterways are still protected by some Indiana employment laws. That holds true even if those employees work on a river barge otherwise governed by federal admiralty laws …