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Firing

Discovered shoddy work during FMLA leave? You’re within your rights to terminate

07/30/2013
Once in a while, it takes an em­­ployee’s long-term absence to discover that she hasn’t been doing her job very well. Remember, the FMLA doesn’t provide protection from discipline that the employee would have earned had she not taken leave.

ADA: Sometimes, no accommodation will work

07/30/2013
Some disabled applicants or employees will never be able to perform their jobs. However, you can only reach that conclusion after both sides engage in the interactive accommodations process. If no accommodation will let the person perform the job’s essential functions, you can terminate an employee or reject an applicant.

Document every discharge just in case there’s a lawsuit

07/26/2013

You might assume that someone won’t sue if they’ve been accused of sexual harassment by several employees and cited for poor performance. You could be wrong. That’s why you should document every discharge decision as if you expect a lawsuit.

Protected activity doesn’t excuse insubordination

07/26/2013
Some workers believe they are golden as soon as they complain about supposedly illegal employer actions. You can and should punish any be­havior you would have punished if the employee had never complained. That includes terminating an em­­ployee for post-complaint insubordination.

Employee won’t cooperate with investigation? That’s legitimate grounds for discharge

07/17/2013
You can reasonably expect em­­ployees to cooperate with internal investigations so you can get all the facts and make well-informed decisions. You can and should discipline workers who won’t assist.

Admitted wrongdoing is grounds for discharge

07/10/2013
If you think an employee has broken a rule, ask her. If she admits she did, that’s reason enough to terminate her. Just make sure you ask the question of every suspected rule-breaker before disciplining them.

NLRB orders reinstatement of Facebooking tour guide

07/09/2013
The NLRB has ordered a New York City tour bus company to reinstate a tour guide who was fired because of what he wrote on Face­­book. The board ruled that his postings were protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act.

Beware firing for forwarding emails that might support retaliation claim

07/09/2013
Be careful before firing someone for violating email policies that prohibit forwarding company documents to a personal email account. If the forwarded documents support an EEOC or other discrimination complaint, and if the forwarding isn’t “disruptive,” firing the employee could trigger a retaliation claim.

Part-time workers have same rights as others

07/05/2013
Some managers mistakenly believe there’s no danger in firing a new part-time employee. That’s just not true. Remind them to always run discipline by HR before taking action.

Beware firing disabled yet active worker

07/05/2013

You just found out that an em­­ployee who’s out on medical leave—with severe restrictions on his activities—recently participated in a running event. What should you do? Think twice before you say, “Fire him!” That could cause lengthy and needless litigation.