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Resignations

Settlement deal required resignation? No unemployment benefits for former employee

07/22/2015

Workers whose employers make it unbearable to come to work are still eligible for unemployment compensation. That’s called constructive discharge. But what about an employee who files an EEOC complaint alleging unbearable working conditions and then settles the case for a lump-sum payment in exchange for resigning? According to a recent Minnesota decision, that’s a voluntary resignation, blocking benefits.

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.

Get the Most Out of Exit Interviews

04/25/2015
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Fire at Will Doctrine

01/01/2015

HR Law 101: Under the law in most states, if there’s no employment contract, workers are employed on an “at-will” basis. That means employers have the right to fire employees at any time for any reason or no reason, and, conversely, employees have the right to leave the organization at any time …

Unemployment: Track complaints that led to quitting

12/08/2014

You need clear lines of communication so employees can complain about workplace problems. That can protect you if an employee quits because of alleged harassment and then applies for unemployment benefits. He won’t be eligible if he never gives you a chance to fix the problem. Not using the company complaint process pretty much means the em­­ployee didn’t give his employer a chance, blocking benefits.

Quitting in anticipation of being fired bars benefits

12/08/2014
An employee who quits because he thinks he may be fired isn’t usually eligible for unemployment benefits. If there was still work available, quitting would have been unreasonable.

Getting the most out of exit interviews

11/24/2014
A team member’s departure offers a valuable opportunity to see how well the team is working and what might be done to improve conditions for future employees. Here are some guidelines to follow to get the most out of this conversation.

Separation agreements: Use arbitration agreements instead of claims releases?

07/15/2014
Q. We have seen that some companies are requiring their employees to agree to arbitration rather than a release of claims in their separation agreements. Is this an alternative worth exploring?

Watch out! EEOC takes aim at separation agreements

07/15/2014
To stay out of the cross-hairs, review your separation agreements and revise any language that could be seen as too broad.

Voluntarily quitting, retiring generally blocks litigation

07/02/2014
Offering the option to resign or retire instead of facing an investigation into alleged wrongdoing doesn’t always block a later lawsuit if the employee accepts—but it usually does. Be prepared to show the resignation or retirement was truly voluntary.