Before you fire any employee, double-check to make sure others who performed just as poorly or made similar mistakes were also terminated. Doing so may prevent a lawsuit … or, if you are sued, at least provide evidence that you treat everyone alike.
It’s not surprising that employees and employers can view the same circumstances differently. Consider, for example, the following case, in which an employee thought she had been replaced and promptly left. She was entitled to unemployment compensation based on her reasonable belief that she had been fired even though her employer never told her so.
Employment agreements are contracts. When disputes arise, they’re typically litigated in state courts because they involve state contract laws. But under the right circumstances, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) may apply to the agreement, effectively making the contract a protected benefit plan.
Employers that end up violating the FMLA—unintentionally or not—don’t face an additional problem under North Carolina law. The supposed problem: At-will employees in North Carolina can sue their employers if they’re terminated and the discharge violates public policy. But failing to follow the intricacies of federal laws and regulations doesn’t violate public policy.
When it comes to termination, courts cut employers lots of slack—if employers can show they sincerely believed they were firing an employee for good reasons. You can show that good faith by having HR review all disciplinary actions, especially double-checking on termination decisions before they are finalized.
Employees who are unable to perform anything but sedentary work may be disabled under the ADA. That means employers may have to find ways to accommodate them, including finding open positions for them to fill elsewhere within the company.
If you use employment contracts for key employees, and those contracts include a “for cause” discharge clause—essentially allowing you to terminate the contract (and employment) for specified reasons—include a paragraph that includes acts or omissions that occurred before the contract was signed.