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Terminations

Courts crack down on serial plaintiffs—and their lawyers

06/01/2009

Some fired employees, unable to move on, file multiple lawsuits against their former employers. If that happens to you, take heart. Courts are starting to drop these cases early. They’re even beginning to consider sanctions against employees’ attorneys.

Roofing manager sues after firing following cancer diagnosis

06/01/2009

A former manager at Tyler Roofing Co. recently filed suit against the company, claiming that his employment was terminated because he missed work to receive cancer treatments. He sued for disability discrimination and violations of the FMLA in the Eastern District of Texas.

Study: Layoffs harm health of those who conduct them

06/01/2009

Don’t expect a lot of sympathy from laid-off workers, but a decade-long study says people who conduct layoffs suffer from a higher rate of ulcers, sleep problems and heart trouble.

Most employers are finished with recession-related cuts

06/01/2009

A new Watson Wyatt survey found that 52% of employers have made layoffs (up from 39% two months earlier), but the percentage of companies planning layoffs fell from 23% to 13%.

How to legally handle chronically late workers

05/27/2009

Employers expect employees to get to work on time. Occasional problems with traffic or family issues sometimes make employees late. But chronic tardiness is another thing altogether. While most employers track tardiness occurrences, they should do more. How?

New COBRA subsidy available in cases of ‘involuntary termination’: What does that mean?

05/27/2009

Under the massive new federal economic stimulus law, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), employees who suffer an “involuntary termination” have to pay just 35% of the cost of COBRA continuation health care coverage. But what does “involuntary termination” mean?

N.J. troopers challenge mandatory retirement policy

05/27/2009

Challenging the state’s mandatory retirement policy, 120 New Jersey state troopers have filed a class-action suit. Under current state law, state troopers must retire at age 55.

Remember, you have to prove exempt status

05/27/2009

Too many employers assume they can just classify employees as FLSA exempt without being challenged. The truth is quite different. In fact, many overtime labor law cases are filed when an employer fires an employee for entirely legitimate reasons.

Britthaven nursing home settles pregnancy discrimination claim

05/27/2009

The Kinston-based Britthaven nursing home and assisted-living chain has settled a pregnancy discrimination claim with the EEOC for $300,000. The agreement settles a lawsuit brought by Katherine Hance and other pregnant employees who claimed they were treated differently from other employees …

How can we terminate a morale buster who is in ill health?

05/27/2009

Q. We have an employee who was out six months with a heart condition. He has had performance problems on and off since then. Now we face a morale issue because he constantly talks about his illness, and his co-workers feel he isn’t performing. If we terminate him, what is the best approach?