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Firing

Insubordination always a legitimate reason to fire

06/07/2011
Employers have the right to expect em­­ployees to listen to reasonable directions, accept criticism and otherwise behave in a civilized way. When an employee becomes insubordinate, the employer has the right to discipline her, including firing if necessary.

Document exact timing of decision to fire

06/07/2011
When firing an employee, always note exactly when you decided to terminate her. You will no doubt know before the employee does. Your good record-keeping can shoot down an employee’s attempt to blame the firing on something illegal—like disability discrimination or an attempt to interfere with the employee’s FMLA rights.

How not to handle FMLA leave (Hint: Following the law isn’t optional!)

06/07/2011

Sure, it’s inconvenient when employees need to take FMLA leave. But you can’t tweak FMLA policies just to suit your operational needs. If you try it, prepare to get out your checkbook. Your employee will have a slam-dunk case to bring to court.

Dillard’s must take $50,000 from till to pay for age bias

06/01/2011
Managers at the Dillard’s department store in Cary have learned the hard way that forcing out older workers simply because of their age doesn’t pay.

For trusted public employees, unsavory off-duty conduct can amount to a firing offense

05/20/2011
Most employees can’t be fired for their legal, off-duty activities. But that’s not true for some government employees. For example, police officers, judges and teachers have a higher duty to the citizens they serve, and they can be terminated for off-duty conduct.

Court: Discipline OK if disabled worker makes threats

05/20/2011
It’s been an open question whether Cali­for­nia’s Fair Employment and Hous­ing Act allows employers to punish a mentally ill employee whose disease makes her act out. Now the answer is clear: You can punish mentally disabled employees for threats or violence against co-workers.

Courts will understand: Feel free to punish differently for misconduct that appears similar

05/13/2011

When companies draft their employee handbooks, they often strive for certainty. Employees want to know what the rules are and employers often oblige with draconian, zero-tolerance rules. No wonder managers often try to apply all the rules equally in all situations. But the smart money is on flexibility.

Use fair progressive discipline and clear documentation to prove you’re not biased

05/13/2011

It happens—employers make mistakes. Under most circumstances, however, those mistakes won’t turn into successful employee discrimination lawsuits. That’s because employees have to prove that both the decision and the underlying facts were wrong and were used as an excuse to discriminate.

Not all offenses are equal–make the punishment fit the ‘crime’

05/13/2011

When disciplining conduct that violates company policies, remember that you have leeway to come up with appropriate punishment based on the specifics of each incident. Just make sure you document the conduct, what rules it violated and why each employee deserved the punishment he or she received.

Complaint: anti-gay slurs, propositions by Jesse Jackson

05/13/2011
A former employee of the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.’s Rainbow Push Coalition has filed what Chicago news outlets are calling a “bombshell” complaint with the Chicago Commission on Human Rights, alleging Jackson ridiculed him for being gay, and even asked him for oral sex on at least one occasion.