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Terminations

At-Will exception protects employees who refuse illegal order … if it’s actually illegal

05/01/2007

It’s illegal to fire an employee because he or she refuses to engage in illegal conduct. But this is a very narrow exception to the general rule of at-will employment …

Consider consulting an attorney before stating why you terminated an employee

05/01/2007

If you’re about to fire an employee for misconduct, think about consulting an attorney before you commit the reason to writing. Sometimes no reason is better than one that could trigger a discrimination lawsuit …

‘Pig’ kept right on working; hospital going straight to court

05/01/2007

A former critical care director at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Passavant has filed suit against the hospital claiming gender discrimination and retaliation …

Can we terminate a manager who got drunk at our annual company event?

05/01/2007

Q. Our organization has a four-day annual meeting for our managers, directors and leaders from 40 offices across the United States. The evening before the meeting ends, we host a large, fun, casual theme party. During this year’s party one of the sales managers from an affiliate office became so intoxicated that she had to be held up and escorted back to her room, where a hospital medical staff member stayed with her to make sure she was OK. The following day, she skipped the remaining meeting sessions and took an early flight home. Is this grounds for dismissal?

Revising crisis plan? Consider disabled workers’ needs

05/01/2007

In light of April’s shootings at Virginia Tech, organizations are taking a fresh look at their evacuation and emergency notification procedures. When you review yours, resist the well-intentioned temptation to lessen risk by shunting aside disabled employees …

Manager who did the hiring also should do the firing

05/01/2007

It may be a good idea to track who in your organization makes the decisions to hire specific employees. That way, those managers can also be part of the decision to discharge employees who turn out to be duds …

Seek accommodations even if the effort seems impossible

05/01/2007

As soon as an employee makes it known that he needs accommodations, it’s up to the employer to start an interactive accommodations process, even if it turns out that no accommodation is possible …

Quit or fired? That’s the question

05/01/2007

Q. We had an employee who was not working out. We gave her the choice of resigning or being terminated. She chose to resign. We were happy because we understand that an employee who resigns is not entitled to unemployment compensation under Texas law? Are we right?—S.G.

No need for extra severance when laying off litigious staff

05/01/2007

Employers that want to trim their work force often sweeten the exit with severance payments. In exchange, employees sign away rights to lawsuits they may otherwise have contemplated. But what about employees who already have pending employment discrimination lawsuits or EEOC or state agency complaints? …

Cut reinstatement risk by tracking laid-Off jobs

05/01/2007

Discharged employees who sue may ask the court to order their reinstatement if they can prove discrimination …