Terminations

Stop bogus suits with good discipline records

07/22/2015

It happens regularly: An employee is facing escalating discipline and fears for her job—so she files a surprise sexual harassment or discrimination lawsuit, hoping to stop her firing. But you can fire her—if you can provide complete disciplinary records to justify that the decision had nothing to do with her complaint.

Before firing, investigate discharge recommendation

07/22/2015

If you rely on a boss to make a firing recommendation and don’t independently investigate, you risk terminating someone because of the supervisor’s hidden bias. That can mean a large jury award. At least give the employee a chance to tell his side of the story.

How to challenge an unemployment claim

07/19/2015

Unemployment insurance benefits are designed to help employees who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. Since employers pay into the fund that pays out unemployment benefits, it’s in your interest to contest benefits for undeserving former employees. Here’s how to go about doing so.

Should we terminate an admitted drug user?

07/09/2015

Q. Following a recent accident on our loading dock, an employee admitted he used marijuana before his shift. Afterward, the employee and the others involved were required to submit to a for-cause drug test pursuant to our drug testing policy. The employee who admitted being high failed the drug test. However, there was an irregularity with our testing vendor, and it was not able to complete the confirmatory re-test of the employee’s specimen. Can we terminate the employee who admitted to working under the influence of marijuana?

Failure to call off is employment misconduct

07/09/2015

Employees who don’t call off work as company rules require may be guilty of misconduct. That means they lose the right to unemployment compensation if they are fired.

Discipline and discharge: 5 do’s and don’ts

07/06/2015

We live in an era when employees have more power than ever—which has made it more legally tricky to come down on them when you need to send a message.

Court upholds firing in medical marijuana case

06/15/2015

In a case with important implications for employers in states where medical and recreational use of marijuana is legal, the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that an employee who was fired after testing positive for cannabis does not have to be rehired.

Document details to differentiate discipline

06/09/2015

You probably have specific rules that spell out discipline for common violations. That doesn’t mean you can’t tailor the punishment to each individual situation. The key is to document the details that justify why one employee who broke a rule was punished more harshly than someone else who broke the same rule.

Another reason to keep good records: Proving when you made decision to terminate

05/29/2015

Could you explain to a court exactly when you decided to fire an employee? If not, you need a system for tracking your decision-making process. That can be invaluable, as this case shows.

Spontaneous wage protest: Can we fire the agitator who stirred up his co-workers?

05/25/2015

Q. We are a nonunion company with a call center employee who has been stirring things up. Recently, he and a large group of first-shift employees stayed in the parking lot instead of coming back from lunch on time. A few of them held up signs saying, “Fair Wages Now!” We’d like to fire the bad apple. Are we taking any big risks if we do?