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Terminations

‘Unacceptable conduct’ is valid discharge reason

06/28/2010
Public employees are entitled to due process before they’re fired. But that’s a flexible standard that allows firing for “unacceptable personal conduct.”

The NJ Law Against Discrimination and the over-70 exception

06/28/2010

The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) expresses a clear legislative intent to prohibit discrimination in all aspects of the employment relationship. However, the NJLAD allows employers to refuse to accept for employment or promote anyone over 70 years of age. The law does prohibit firing someone over 70 because of age. This exception was the subject of a recent New Jersey Supreme Court ruling.

Abrasive personality can justify termination

06/28/2010

Some employees seem perpetually unable to get along with others. They argue, act insubordinate and generally make life miserable for other employees who are trying to get work done. Don’t hesitate to fire them if they refuse to change their ways.

Firing? Pick a reason and stick with it

06/28/2010

Presumably, when you terminate an employee, you have good reasons for doing so. If you pile on more reasons later, it may look as if you are trying to cover up a discriminatory decision with a host of excuses for why you fired the employee.

Lawsuit-proof your HR operations: Document business reason for every decision

06/24/2010

It’s difficult to predict which employee will be the next to sue. That’s why your best defense is to treat every major employment-related decision as a potential lawsuit. How? Back it up with a solid, business-related justification.

Establish an employee policy on responding to shoplifters–and be consistent in enforcement

06/22/2010
Two employees of a Sprint store chased down and subdued a shoplifter even though they were on break at the time. Heroic? Yes. But also a violation of Sprint company policy, and both men were fired. Employers are within their rights to set such policies, but make sure you enforce such policies consistently to avoid discrimination claims.

Trust but verify: FMLA software isn’t foolproof

06/22/2010
As FMLA administration grows more complex, more employers are using software to track it. Most of the time that works fine. But if you decide to terminate because the software told you an employee overstepped her leave or wasn’t eligible for FMLA leave, review the reasons for the leave and double-check your calculations.

Before you decide to fire, make sure past job evaluations support your rationale

06/18/2010

Here’s a tip that will make courts more likely to uphold your termination decisions. Make sure whatever reason you use to justify the firing also showed up in past performance evaluations. Nothing raises suspicions more than kudos followed by discharge.

Firing? Back with complete discipline records

06/18/2010

Employers that keep careful track of which employees are disciplined—and for what reasons—have a leg up if they’re ever sued for discrimination. Before you terminate any employee, take the time to pull up all similar past disciplinary files. If those records show you fired other employees for identical or less-serious offenses, chances are no court will second-guess your decision in the latest case.

Retaliation alert: Most public employees protected when reporting alleged wrongdoing

06/18/2010
Public employees have First Amendment free speech rights, including protection from reprisal for reporting alleged wrongdoing to superiors. They lose that protection only if reporting wrongdoing is part of their jobs.