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Terminations

Involved in pre-Termination hearing? Follow the rules

04/01/2008
Here’s a worry for public employees who find themselves assigned to participate in pre-termination hearings: If you don’t follow the hearing rules, you just might lose the qualified immunity you ordinarily have for employment decisions—and wind up being sued personally …

Asking to get fired in order to receive unemployment comp benefits

04/01/2008
Q. An employee just told me he wants to resign, but he asked to be fired instead of resigning. He said it had to do with unemployment benefits. What is the significance? …

Will a disclaimer protect us from all claims related to our handbook?

04/01/2008
Q. Our handbook has a bold and conspicuous disclaimer stating that everyone is an at-will employee and that nothing in the handbook alters the at-will relationship. Is that sufficient to protect the company from claims based on the handbook? …

What’s the law on demanding a nonsmoking work force?

04/01/2008
Q. The media often have stories about companies that adopt a “no-smoker” policy in order to save on health insurance costs, and force their staffs to quit smoking to keep their jobs. Can my Colorado company do this? …

Track performance improvement plans by protected category

04/01/2008
Employers frequently design performance improvement plans (PIPs) for underperforming employees. But the way managers choose which employees to place on PIPs can have serious consequences. Here’s how to make sure your PIP system is fair—and legal …

You can fire high performers just because of poor attitude

04/01/2008
We’ve all encountered the type: employees who are smart—and know it. They work hard and produce results. But they are so arrogant, so abrasive and so insistent that their way is the right way that they kill morale. You don’t have to keep them on just because they meet or even exceed business goals …

Getting legal advice? Be prepared to show court the details

04/01/2008
Sometimes, despite uncertainty about whether or not discrimination has occurred, you still may have to fire an employee. But what if you turn out to be wrong? Will that mean a huge punitive damages award? Not if you can show that before the decision was made, you consulted an attorney. That’s right: Calling in the lawyers is the best insurance—if you do it right …

Not a close call: Claustrophobia isn’t an ADA disability

04/01/2008
Not every mental or physical condition is a disability under the ADA. Consider claustrophobia. Though the condition, which involves the inability to remain in a confined space such as an elevator, may be a legitimate psychiatric condition, it does not necessarily prevent those who suffer from it from living a relatively normal life …

Never mind, just a little $100 million misunderstanding

04/01/2008
The fireworks are apparently over in the battle between Judith Regan, former president of ReganBooks, and parent company News Corporation. Regan and News Corporation reached an undisclosed settlement of her $100 million lawsuit in January …

When serial harasser strikes, you can’t just move victims

04/01/2008
Do you have a serial harasser on your hands? Has the finger been pointed at the same individual more than once? If so, don’t try to weasel your way out of a confrontation by simply separating the harasser from the harassed. You may get away with it once, but you’re courting trouble (and a potentially big lawsuit) if you try it again …