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Firing

Be wary of firing employees for aggressive union organizing

08/01/2000
John Ramirez’s union asked him to apply for a welder’s job to help organize the workers. He got the job and quickly started rallying support for a union bid. But …

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 …