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Terminations

Are we liable for defamation if we make allegations during an unemployment comp hearing?

12/01/2010
Q. We fired an employee for stealing company property. While we didn’t catch her red-handed, the circumstantial evidence was overwhelming and we felt comfortable letting her go. The employee filed an unemployment compensation claim that we contested, and now a hearing has been scheduled before an appeals referee. We would like to say at the hearing that the employee is a thief, but we’re afraid we’ll face a defamation claim because we can’t absolutely prove this charge. Would that be a well-founded concern?

Comments cost boss his job, may cost company more

12/01/2010
A former employee of H&W Industrial Services in Longview is suing the painting and cleaning contractor for sexual discrimination and harassment after a supervisor allegedly made comments about her sexual orientation.

Same offense, different discipline? Back it up

12/01/2010

Your progressive discipline probably gives you some flexibility to hand out different punishment, depending on the seriousness of the employee misconduct. As a practical matter, that means you must decide whether what one employee does is more serious than another’s similar transgression. Make sure you’re able to explain why one offense was worse than another and deserved harsher punishment.

Ho Ho No! Don’t force wearing of Santa hats

11/30/2010
A Jehovah’s Witness was fired from her department store job after she refused to wear a Santa hat while wrapping Christmas gifts. The problem: Her religious beliefs didn’t allow it. Now the EEOC wants a judge to decide whether the store should get coal in its stocking this Christmas.

Physical therapy not always sign of disability

11/30/2010
Employees who need to take time off to attend physical therapy to deal with an injury may believe they’re disabled under the ADA. And they assume the time off must be a reasonable accommodation. That’s not necessarily true.

Log misconduct or worker could get unemployment

11/29/2010

When you discharge an employee for misconduct, she theoretically isn’t eligible for unemployment compensation because the employee’s own poor behavior is what caused her dismissal. But you can’t be sloppy when you document the misconduct. Take the time to investigate before you terminate.

How should we handle a termination when both the FMLA and short-term disability are in play?

11/24/2010
Q. We run FMLA and short-term disability (STD) concurrently. FMLA is for 12 weeks of job-protected leave. STD is for 26 weeks, with proper medical documentation. At what point can we terminate an employee?

What’s this I hear about a ‘cooling-off’ period in layoffs involving severance pay?

11/24/2010
Q. Is there a law that requires a 45-day waiting period from the time employees are told they’ll be laid off until they receive the severance payment? My supervisor said it’s called a cooling-off period.

Make sure post-firing documentation doesn’t pile on extra reasons for termination

11/24/2010
Remember this the next time you have to terminate an employee: If you plan to prepare a post-discharge summary, don’t succumb to the temptation to add new reasons to justify the firing. Post-discharge memos should simply describe the decision and how you carried it out, not look like an attempt to justify a decision made earlier.

Tell bosses: Don’t nudge staff into retirement

11/24/2010

Remind supervisors to avoid comments that could be interpreted as pushing soon-to-retire workers out the door. If an older employee has to be terminated, a supervisor’s not-so-subtle hints at retirement will make it easier to persuade a court that age was the supervisor’s true reason for the firing.