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Terminations

Good cause to act? Don’t wait to terminate

06/01/2011
Sometimes, it’s smart to pull the termination trigger sooner rather than later. Waiting just gives the employee a chance to dig in—and plan a lawsuit.

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.

When reorganizing, focus on essential company goals

06/01/2011
At some point, every employer will have to reorganize to cut costs or im­­prove effectiveness. Don’t let those making the reorg decisions take the easy way out by simply eliminating positions held by disabled employees.

Disabled employee wants open position? That may be a reasonable accommodation

06/01/2011
Employers have an obligation to reasonably accommodate disabled employees. They can’t just ignore an accommodation request—especially if it involves the relatively simple step of placing the employee in an open job.

Think co-worker religious bias wasn’t serious? Don’t bet on courts taking such a casual view

06/01/2011
Earlier this year, we told you about a North Carolina religious har­ass­ment case that was dismissed because the judge felt the alleged har­assment wasn’t serious enough to warrant a lawsuit. The EEOC asked the court to re­consider its decision and it did, order­ing the lawsuit reinstated.

No unemployment if worker never returns from sick leave

05/27/2011
Employees who fail to return to work after taking medical leave can’t claim unemployment benefits if there was a job available when they were medically cleared to work.

Discuss retirement after layoff decision has been made

05/20/2011
Timing is everything. Suggesting retirement before any decision has been made to terminate an employee may show age discrimination. Discussing it after informing the employee that he’s been terminated doesn’t.

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.

When workers’ comp and disability collide: 100% disabled worker may deserve accommodation

05/20/2011
Don’t make a common employer mis­take and assume that someone who is declared 100% disabled under a workers’ compensation claim can’t also be entitled to reasonable accommodations for a different job.

Be prepared to prove you had reasonable cause to deny reinstatement after FMLA leave

05/20/2011
Employers that deny an employee the right to reinstatement after protected FMLA leave must make sure there’s solid proof that there was a rational reason for doing so. As a practical matter, that means employers must show that the employee would have lost her job regardless of whether she took FMLA leave.