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Firing

Sample Policy: Noncompete Agreements

01/01/2007
The following sample policy was excerpted from The Book of Company Policies, published by HR Specialist, © 2011. Edit for your organization’s purposes and related state law. _____________________ “The undersigned understands and agrees that the Company has a vital interest in retaining the loyalty, fidelity and continued employment and association of its employees and customers. […]

Hip-Hop editor wins millions in sex discrimination trial

01/01/2007

A New York jury has awarded the former editor-in-chief of The Source, a hip-hop magazine, $15.5 million in damages from her sex discrimination lawsuit …

Must we give a fired employee his personnel file?

01/01/2007

Q. I recently discharged an employee for performance problems. At the end of the termination meeting, he asked for a copy of his personnel file. Do I have to give discharged employees a copy of their personnel files? —B.N.

Undocumented workers aren’t eligible for unemployment

01/01/2007

In Pennsylvania, laid off employees who aren’t legally documented to work in the United States aren’t eligible for unemployment compensation payments …

Consensus Decisions Can Deflect Firing-Bias Claims

01/01/2007

One of the best ways to make sure a termination decision sticks is to adopt a consensus approach to the decision-making …

Progressive discipline: How to apply a fair, firm policy

01/01/2007

While no federal or state law requires you to create and follow a progressive discipline policy, courts often come down hard on employers that promise progressive discipline but fail to deliver it …

Use unemployment comp decision to defend a bias lawsuit

01/01/2007

Here’s another good reason to aggressively contest unemployment compensation claims when you have strong evidence that the company fired the employee for a good cause (such as lying or stealing): You can use an unemployment compensation ruling to prove, in a later discrimination lawsuit, that you fired an employee for a valid, nondiscriminatory reason …

You Needn’t Accommodate Some ‘Serious’ Ailments

01/01/2007

While the ADA says organizations must provide reasonable accommodations to people with qualifying disabilities, be aware that many apparently serious conditions aren’t limiting enough to be considered disabilities …

EEOC sues modeling school over firing of pregnant director

01/01/2007

The EEOC recently filed a lawsuit against Barbizon School of Modeling of Atlanta for firing a director five days after she gave birth. The former director, who worked at its Macon location, claims Barbizon terminated her because of her pregnancy …

‘Sexist attitude’ isn’t direct evidence of discrimination

01/01/2007

To support sex discrimination lawsuits, employees must do more than claim their supervisor had a “sexist attitude.” Without more proof of job-related impact, complaints about supervisors with attitude aren’t enough direct evidence …