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Terminations

Can you fire a poor performer who’s on FMLA leave?

04/01/2004

Q. Our office receptionist has a history of being late for work and taking unexcused absences. She’s out on FMLA leave to care for her sick mother. Her temporary replacement is doing an outstanding job and always shows up on time. Our CEO has asked if we can keep the new receptionist and tell the other one not to return. Can we? —J.M., New York

‘Willful’ violation can extend employees’ time to file FMLA suit

03/01/2004
Typically, employees can file Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) lawsuits no later than two years after the alleged violation. But if a worker can prove that your organization “willfully” violated …

Worker’s FMLA time expired? Check ADA obligation, too

03/01/2004

Q. An employee’s been on FMLA leave for pregnancy for about 17 weeks. Now that the 16 weeks (12 under FMLA, plus four additional in our state) have expired, we plan to terminate her and let her know that she is eligible for rehire when and if she returns to work. Are we legally safe? —C.A., California

Misconduct is the key to enforcing your ‘no rehire’ policy

03/01/2004
Issue: When can you refuse to rehire a former employee who may be protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)? Benefit: You don’t have to rehire people who are …

Wear kid gloves with accommodation requests; they are ‘protected activity’

03/01/2004
Alert managers that they can’t demote, fire or retaliate in any way against employees simply because they ask you to accommodate their physical ailments. That advice holds true even if employees …

Workers’ religious beliefs don’t trump your need for a bias-free workplace

03/01/2004
Employees are clearly entitled to their own religious beliefs. But your organization doesn’t need to bend the rules to allow those beliefs to interfere with the rights of other employees.
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Retaliation: Don’t retaliate against witnesses

03/01/2004
After a workplace investigation, check with all parties involved (including witnesses) to make sure they haven’t been retaliated against. The case: During an investigation into misconduct, employee Donny Abbott told supervisors …

Be consistent when you discipline and terminate

03/01/2004

Q. We fired one of our truck drivers after giving him a written warning about continued lateness in completing weekly logs. Should we have taken any other action prior to his termination? —R.W., California

Use caution in firing employee after On-the-Job injury

03/01/2004

Q. An employee in our plant was directed by a replacement line supervisor to use a machine that he wasn’t trained to operate. The employee stuck his hand into the machine to clear a jam and was injured. The plant supervisor fired the employee while he was still in the hospital for operating machinery he hadn’t been trained on. Does the employee have a right to sue us if he was actually ordered by the line supervisor to do this job? —K.C.

Most employers fail to follow layoff-notice rules

03/01/2004
Expect federal regulators to look closer for organizations failing to comply with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. The law requires certain employers to give 60 days’ notice of …