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Terminations

If fired worker lists us as a reference, will we get in trouble for telling the truth?

03/01/2010

Q. Another company has requested a reference for an employee that we fired. The company has a signed form giving the employee’s written consent to ask us for a reference. Will we have legal problems if we provide negative information about the employee?

Don’t fear personal liability for some firings

03/01/2010

If you have hiring and firing responsibilities, you may worry from time to time whether you could be held personally liable for your decisions. Now a Texas appeals court has answered that question—at least in situations involving the firing of someone who refuses to engage in an act she believes is illegal. The court said there is no personal liability.

Use objective, easily measurable standards to gauge employee performance

03/01/2010

Most jobs can be quantified. That is, it’s possible to measure success on the job by tallying how much an employee produces in a given period—whether that’s widgets, reports, new clients or sales. By using such objective measures to decide who is terminated, employers have powerful evidence to counter discrimination claims.

Age taunts earn $75K for former North Richland Hills employee

03/01/2010

The city of North Richland Hills will pay $75,000 to a former employee to settle a suit claiming that the worker was forced to resign after being continually taunted that he was too old to do his job. The lawsuit said city workers repeatedly ridiculed Robert Coffman, saying he was too old to keep up, that he made too much money and that he should quit.

Tell managers: No campaign to ‘get’ employee allowed

02/25/2010

Looking to get sued? Just throw the book at an employee whom you would just as soon see resign. That’s especially true if she has just engaged in some form of protected activity like asking for FMLA leave.

Court upholds limited-duty accommodation for state trooper

02/25/2010

Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has upheld an arbitrator’s decision granting desk duty to a Pennsylvania state trooper who has a history of depression.

Horsham software firm settles age bias suit for $175K

02/25/2010

Astea International has agreed to settle an Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) lawsuit for $175,000. The EEOC brought the suit on behalf of 47-year-old Frank Fesnak, who was fired from his position as the Horsham-based company’s vice president of strategic alliances.

They’re not too old to spend $6.2 million

02/25/2010

Two scientists fired from the Valley Forge chemical company PQ Corp. are millionaires following a federal jury’s verdict in their age discrimination lawsuit. The two, a 60-year-old woman and a 56-year-old man, filed age bias charges against PQ after the company implemented a mass layoff in 2005. The scientists alleged that all of the employees laid off were over age 55.

Senior public employees may get hearing before firing

02/22/2010

Generally, public employees are entitled to a hearing before they are terminated. But in some government functions, employees who work at senior levels are deemed to be serving at the pleasure of the head of their agency or unit.

Same offense, different circumstances: The punishment can fit the crime

02/22/2010

The cardinal rule for employers is to punish like offenses the same way. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t have some flexibility. For example, when two employees break the same rule, the underlying reasons might be considerably different. If you decide to punish one more severely than the other, document why you don’t consider the circumstances the same.