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Terminations

Make sure your investigations are thorough

04/22/2009

Employers have great leeway when it comes to discharging employees. But many employers get into trouble by failing to conduct a thorough and fair investigation. If the employee can prove the investigation was so cursory that it was just an excuse to cover up an illegal motivation such as age discrimination, the employer may lose big.

Verizon settles harassment suit filed by Pittsburgh woman

04/22/2009

Lissa Hannan, a Verizon employee in the Pittsburgh area, filed a complaint alleging a male contractor sexually harassed her. The company essentially put her on hold and then hung up. Ten days after she filed her complaint, Verizon fired Hannan. The company ended up agreeing to pay her $37,000 to settle the lawsuit.

Avoid ADA ‘regarded-as’ problems: Don’t mark ‘disabled’ on files

04/22/2009

Employers that “regard” people as disabled and then discriminate by firing them or refusing to hire them in the first place will face lawsuits—even if it turns out those applicants and employees aren’t actually disabled. That’s a key part of the ADA.

Discipline based on customer complaints? Get them in writing

04/22/2009

Sometimes, you may want to discipline or discharge an employee because of customer complaints. Get those complaints in writing—you may be able to use the letters as evidence that proves you sincerely fired the employee based on the complaints.

Left behind: Consider RIF effects on your other employees

04/22/2009

Your business has crunched the numbers, considered the alternatives and come to the conclusion that layoffs are necessary if the business is to remain afloat during these challenging economic times. But how much thought have you given to your remaining employees who are about to watch their friends and colleagues lose their jobs?

Watch out, managers! The top 6 firing mistakes to avoid

04/21/2009

Here are the top six mistakes managers make when they have to terminate an employee. Any one of them can cause a costly trip to court when the employee sues. Learn more about terminating employees without increasing your lawsuit risk. Our upcoming audio conference, "Trouble-Free Terminations: Legally Safe Layoffs and Firings," tells you how.

Banish any talk of old age, new blood

04/20/2009

A jury recently awarded a fired employee more than $10 million in punitive damages for age discrimination after what may seem like fairly insignificant ageist talk. Although the court has said the award should be lowered, the employee will still collect more than $6 million in compensatory damages.

USERRA protects those who left military years ago, too

04/20/2009

Employers that use an employee’s long-ago military service against him may be liable under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. USERRA isn’t just for those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mich. employees have 3 years to sue for bias under state law

04/20/2009

If you haven’t heard anything lately from a former employee who griped about discrimination, don’t breathe easy yet. Michigan employees have up to three years to bring claims under Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and Michigan’s Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act.

Preparing for possible litigation

04/20/2009

Q. We recently had to discharge an employee for poor work performance. We are a relatively small company (70 employees) and don’t often fire people. Because of special circumstances that forced us to terminate the employee rather than try corrective action, we think it is very possible there will be some kind of litigation. Do you have any recommendations for what we should do or think about now, even before any lawsuit has been filed?