• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Firing

Whistle-blowers protected even if they defy complaint process

08/01/2000
Barbara Fleming, a nurse at a women’s prison, complained to her direct supervisor that other employees were providing inmates medication under expired prescriptions. When her oral complaint got no response, …

More reason to prevent race bias: Courts open new avenue for claims

08/01/2000
Jackie Lauture, an African-American, was an at-will employee at IBM for 16 years before she was fired for poor performance. She sued for race discrimination …

Beware of Restrictions on Right to Fire at Will

08/01/2000

Q. I would like to fire an employee who is unpleasant to work with. We simply don’t “click.” Do I have to have cause to terminate him? —A.C., Virginia

Supreme Court greases path for bias cases

07/01/2000
Your chances of winning a job discrimination lawsuit just took a tumble. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that workers don’t need direct evidence …

It’s not always best to challenge a handbook’s implied contract

07/01/2000
Continental Airlines followed a detailed attendance policy with machinist Kevin McGuire. He first got verbal and written warnings, then was fired. McGuire contested …

Punctuality isn’t ‘essential’ for all jobs

06/01/2000
Massachusetts Health Research Institute lets employees start work any time between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and leave after working seven-and-a-half hours. But data-entry worker Michael Ward usually arrived between 9:10 …

Ban all age bias; states OK youth-bias claims

06/01/2000
Kimberly Zanni, a 31-year-old-account executive, was fired and replaced by an older, less qualified woman. One supervisor had told Zanni that she sounded …

Avoid snap decision on whether illness would qualify under FMLA

06/01/2000
When her three-year-old son awoke with a high fever, congestion and an earache, Juanita Caldwell got permission from an assistant manager to miss her morning …

Courts split on damages for FLSA retaliation

06/01/2000
Brian Snapp’s boss fired him after finding out Snapp had complained to the U.S. Labor Department that the company violated federal wage laws. A jury awarded Snapp …

Don’t let tummy aches turn into entitlements

05/01/2000
Katherine Thorson was fired for excessive absenteeism after missing four days of work due to stomach cramps and medical tests. All of her tests were normal, but weeks later (after her …