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  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
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Terminations

Can we require riffed employees to sign a release before they receive severance pay?

07/20/2009

Q. Under our company policy, employees who are terminated because of a reduction in force are entitled to severance pay. Can we require them to execute a release in order to receive severance pay?

When labor, immigration laws clash, NLRB decides

07/17/2009

The Department of Homeland Security has authorized more raids on workplaces it suspects include undocumented workers—and employers, not the workers, are being charged with breaking the law. At the same time, the NLRB is pushing employers to settle unfair labor practice cases and ordering them to rehire employees terminated for exercising National Labor Relations Act rights. But what happens when those fired workers are actually ineligible to work?

You can require arbitration of termination wage claims

07/17/2009

It can be months or years of administrative hearings to decide how much you are obliged to pay terminated employees. That’s one reason the Court of Appeal of California has begun advocating arbitration as a legal alternative to hearings.

Check employment agreements for commission cutoffs

07/17/2009

Here’s a good idea if you are reviewing employment agreements that spell out how you pay commissions: Be sure to specify that the end of employment means the end of commissions.

No evaluations? You could be called ‘Out!’

07/17/2009

The recession has put the brakes on pay raises in many workplaces. But too many employers have halted performance reviews at the same time. That’s a major mistake. Reason: Discharged employees who sue will have a much easier time getting to a jury trial if you can’t produce evaluations that back up your stated termination reasons.

Suspect FMLA mischief? Use certification before taking drastic action

07/17/2009

Some employees have learned how to play the FMLA game very well. For example, you may notice a suspicious Monday-Friday pattern of intermittent leave for an illness. If you really believe an employee is trying to pull a fast one, don’t play the termination card right away. Your first—and safest—option: request a medical certification stating the employee has a serious health condition.

Set clear, consistent response to employees’ ‘I’m sick’ calls

07/17/2009

Nothing will land you in FMLA trouble faster than ignoring an employee’s request for leave. You’d never do that, you say. But what about an untrained supervisor? Make sure all managers and supervisors know how to handle medical call-ins. Ignoring a leave request could amount to “interference” with the employee’s right to take FMLA leave.

Chronic fatigue syndrome or just too pooped to work?

07/17/2009

If you have an employee who seems constantly exhausted, take note: He or she may suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). And under the newly revised Americans with Disabilities Act, that person could be deemed “disabled” and entitled to reasonable work accommodations.

HR CSI: How to conduct a post-mortem of a legal claim

07/14/2009

If you’ve ever been caught up in an employment lawsuit, chances are you couldn’t wait for it to be over. Yet every case presents a valuable opportunity to prevent future problems and improve HR effectiveness by conducting an “autopsy” of the claim.

Religious accommodations: Must you let employee wear a nose ring?

07/14/2009

Federal anti-discrimination law says employers must try to “reasonably accommodate” employees’ “sincerely held religious beliefs or practices,” as long as the accommodations wouldn’t place an undue hardship on their organizations. What religious practices would be deemed legitimate in the EEOC’s eyes?