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Terminations

Fire away! Whistleblowing doesn’t excuse wrongdoing

06/22/2016
Some employees seem to believe that as long as they engage in whistleblowing, they’re immune from getting fired. That’s not true.

Government employer? Before firing, weigh employee’s policy role, free speech

06/22/2016
Recently the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that a public employee cannot be discharged because he may have supported his boss’s opponent in an election. Now, however, a federal court has limited the impact of the ruling for employees whose positions involve policymaking or employee confidentiality.

Go figure: Drunk at work means no unemployment

06/17/2016
Employers don’t have to tolerate intoxicated employees. That’s willful misconduct that bars receiving unemployment benefits.

After bias lawsuit, reinstatement is easy; it’s not always recommended

06/17/2016
One remedy for discrimination is reinstatement. However, employers should be prepared to argue against reinstatement if there are reasons unrelated to a lawsuit that it is not a workable option. Here’s how one employer did that.

Investigate before jumping into action

06/17/2016
Don’t worry if you need to take some time to investigate whether an employee broke a workplace rule and should be terminated. While a speedy resolution may be easy sometimes, other cases take time and deserve a thorough investigation.

Beware unexpected peril of undoing termination

06/09/2016
Something to consider if you have an internal system for handling disciplinary appeals: Reversing a disciplinary action like a termination could be used against you later as proof of retaliation.

Beware basing layoff on inconsistent ratings

05/31/2016
Here’s a reminder that it’s not always foolproof to base a reduction-in-force on rankings of employee performance.

High Court sets clear constructive discharge rule

05/27/2016
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on May 23 that the clock starts ticking on constructive discharge cases on the day the employee announces plans to resign, not the day an employer’s allegedly intolerable act occurred.

COBRA coverage debatable after firing for misconduct

05/09/2016
Employees fired for misconduct are not eligible for continued health insurance.

Warn managers: If you slander former employees, you can expect to be sued

05/09/2016
A salacious Wall Street story illustrates the cost of bad-mouthing a former employee.