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Terminations

Must we mail former employee’s last paycheck?

04/02/2009

Q. We have terminated an employee who has moved out of state and requested we mail his last check to him. Do we have to mail it? If so, when?

After the fact, employee can’t claim illness caused absence

04/02/2009

Sometimes, employees hesitate to tell supervisors about their medical problems, especially if they feel there’s a stigma associated with the condition. But if the employee misses work and is fired, she can’t use the medical excuse to get unemployment compensation benefits.

Track discipline to counter claims of discrimination

04/02/2009

Make sure everyone on your HR staff knows about every disciplinary action. Track who is disciplined and for what reasons. Use that data to do a self-audit. You’re looking to see whether members of a protected class are being punished more severely than others.

Citigroup accused of ‘recessionary’ sex bias

04/02/2009

In a textbook illustration of the perils of downsizing, a group of female executives has filed suit against beleaguered banking giant Citigroup, charging the bank’s layoffs hit women executives harder than men. That, attorney Douglas Wigdor told Forbes.com, is “recessionary discrimination.”

Can we search employees? We suspect theft

04/02/2009

Q. We have noticed some of our inventory is missing, and we believe it might be leaving our facility via our employees. Can we search them and their belongings?

Static over dryer sheets comes out in the wash

03/31/2009

Fourteen employees of a Costco store in Hackensack took recycling a bit too far when they started reusing customer coupons for free fabric softener and dryer sheets. The employees wound up paying a high price for their “free” loot. When investigators brought the matter to the attention of store manager Sami Nasr, he fired all 14 employees.

TARP provisions force banks to rescind job offers

03/31/2009

Chalk it up to the rule of unanticipated consequences: Banks that took federal bailout money are rescinding job offers to foreign-born MBAs. No, it’s not discrimination based on foreign origin. Rather, it’s one of the strings attached to billions in TARP funds.

Does North Carolina have a mini-COBRA law?

03/30/2009

Q. Our company employs fewer than 20 employees, so federal COBRA does not apply to us. Is there a state law that allows continued health care coverage following termination of employment?

Is there a state health continuation subsidy?

03/30/2009

Q. Is North Carolina providing a subsidy for health care continuation for employers with fewer than 20 employees similar to the federal subsidy contained in the new economic stimulus law?

Set clear rules for initial employment period

03/30/2009

Sometimes, it’s obvious early on that a new employee isn’t working out. Firing such an employee won’t cause legal trouble as long as you based the call on previously set performance standards, job-related testing or some other impartial evaluation process.