• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Terminations

You’re liable for bias–even against temps

02/09/2010

Employers sometimes mistakenly believe that hiring a temporary employee through an agency means they won’t be liable if the worker files a discrimination or harassment complaint. The fact is that most temps—even if they are paid and generally managed by an agency—are still “employees” of the organization where they actually perform work. And they’re entitled to work in an environment free of harassment and discrimination.

Get legal help with termination agreements

02/09/2010

Call your attorney before offering a severance agreement! A federal trial court in Florida has allowed to go forward a disability discrimination lawsuit from a former employee who left under a negotiated termination agreement largely because the agreement was silent on why the employee was leaving.

Employee who misses work for medical reasons may be eligible for unemployment benefits

02/09/2010

If you discharge an employee after she exhausts time off available through the FMLA, sick leave and other benefits, she may still be eligible for unemployment compensation. That’s true even if her absenteeism violated a company attendance policy.

Beware bias based on gender stereotyping

02/09/2010

While the federal Civil Rights Act contains no outright prohibition against discrimination based on sexual orientation, that doesn’t mean employers can get away with discriminating against employees who don’t fit society’s stereotypes about how men and women should look. Sex stereotyping may well be sex discrimination because it is based on notions of what is “feminine” and “masculine.”

First time hiring member of protected class? Have legitimate rationale before terminating

02/09/2010

When you hire someone, you have presumably concluded that the new employee has met at least the minimum requirements for job success. Of course, sometimes that turns out to be wrong. But think twice if you’re tempted to fire an employee who isn’t working out, and that person is your first-ever employee belonging to a particular protected class.

On the other hand, sometimes quick termination works, too

02/09/2010

Sometimes you realize early on that a recent hire is not going to work out. He may have looked good on paper, but isn’t doing well on the job. It may then be time to cut your losses.

Laying off employee who’s out on FMLA leave? Better be prepared to back up the rationale

02/09/2010

If an employer has to downsize due to economic conditions, employees who are out on FMLA leave aren’t immune. They can be included in the reduction in force as long as their FMLA status isn’t used as a factor. But employers have to be careful—it will look suspicious if the only employee laid off happens to have been out on FMLA leave or just returned from it.

Another mortgage bailout, this time for Florida workers

02/09/2010

The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced it will spend $1.6 million to help retrain 600 mortgage industry workers who lost their jobs at the Taylor, Bean, and Whitaker mortgage company in Northern and Central Florida. The money will provide training assistance to workers so they can qualify for jobs in the health care and IT.

Quick settlements encourage more suits; sometimes you have to trust a jury

02/04/2010

Employers are often too eager to settle cases just to get out from under the possibility of a runaway jury. But caving in like that can make you a more tempting target for other employees. If you and your attorneys are convinced you didn’t do anything wrong, it may be best to trust a jury to hear the case and come to the same conclusion.

RIF? Make sure layoff decision-makers don’t know workers’ FMLA status

02/03/2010

Economic times remain tough, and businesses are still finding they have to cut costs to survive. And cutting costs often means looking at a possible reduction in force. In most organizations facing that difficult prospect, a team of managers has to decide where the cuts should be made and what criteria to use when making those cuts. Make sure the decision-making team doesn’t have access to information about FMLA usage …