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Terminations

Fair investigation all that’s needed to support discharge

06/24/2013
Employers don’t have to be absolutely right before disciplining an employee. They merely have to investigate first.

How risky is it to fire a pregnant employee having attendance problems?

06/20/2013
Q. An employee has been with us for less than a year, so she isn’t yet eligible for FMLA leave. Last month she missed five days because her child had a high fever. She used available PTO for the time off. Last week, she was no-call/no-show for three days. She told the supervisor she had been hospitalized because of pregnancy complications and didn’t have access to a phone and was sedated. She provided a doctor’s note that released her to return to work, but stated that she may need to be put on bed rest. The supervisor would like to terminate her because we can’t afford to continue employing someone so unreliable. Can we do this?

How to thwart bias lawsuits: Have supervisor who did the hiring also handle firing

06/20/2013
Here’s a tip that can help prevent successful termination lawsuits: Set up your system so that the same individual or individuals who make hiring decisions also make the final termination decisions. It will help you prevail in court if the fired employee tries to sue you for discrimination.

Beware firing worker who sleeps with the enemy

06/20/2013
Here’s a situation that should send you straight to your attorney’s office. If you fire an employee because you discovered her spouse works for the competition, you may be violating the marital status discrimination clause in the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA).

Waiting to fire slacker? Document your concerns

06/11/2013
If you have a poor-performing worker but don’t want to fire him before you have lined up a replacement, make sure you document all the problems—and your efforts to get him up to expectations.

Check records before and after harassment claim

06/07/2013
Here’s a tip that could save you thousands in legal bills and penalties: When you are asked to terminate a poor performer who previously complained about harassment, make sure her performance problems didn’t suddenly emerge after the complaint. That could be a clear indication of retaliation.

Feel free to regulate worker conduct in company van

06/06/2013
Good news for employers worried about their public image: If you provide carpool transportation for your employees and want to control their behavior while using that transportation, you can.

Restrict FMLA leave info to those who need to know

06/03/2013
A frequent tactic for employees who have used FMLA leave and who are fired around the same time is to allege that they were terminated for taking FMLA leave. But those claims fall apart if the person making the termination decision didn’t know about the leave. That’s reason enough to limit access to FMLA leave information to those who need to know.

Court: Years alone won’t define ‘significantly younger’

06/03/2013
When someone claims age discrimination, he typically has to show that he was replaced by someone “significantly younger.” What that means is unclear—and courts seem in no hurry to come up with a hard-and-fast rule.

OK to fire everyone, then ask them to reapply

06/03/2013
Sometimes, it becomes apparent that something has to change in a workplace. When that’s the case, firing everyone and having them reapply for their jobs may be a viable approach, if a recent 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision is any indication.