Firing

NLRB flexes muscle with reinstatement order

04/28/2022

The National Labor Relations Board, which enforces the National Labor Relations Act, is aggressively pursuing reinstatement as a remedy when it finds an employer has committed an unfair labor practice. That means more employers these days may have to take back workers they already fired. Ordering an employee’s reinstatement is an unusual step, but it could become more common.

5 questions to ask yourself just seconds before you fire someone … and 5 to ask yourself just seconds before you hire someone

03/24/2022

Are you really sure you want to press that button just yet? Run a few things through your mind before picking up the phone … or making the long hard walk down the hallway.

Should you fire employee who supports Putin?

03/15/2022

When it comes to at-will employment, there are all kinds of people you can terminate. The trickier question is whether you should fire them.

Snapshot: Who’s quitting to gain the flexibility to work anywhere?

01/11/2022

Baby boomers are quitting for the option to work from anywhere at nearly twice the rate of their younger colleagues.

Beware firing during employee’s FMLA leave

12/22/2021

Generally, employers are free to punish or terminate workers even while on job-protected leave like FMLA if they discover during that time away that the employee wasn’t doing his job. But there’s a caveat. You must be able to show the court that you would have done the same thing if the employee hadn’t taken leave

Griping about low pay isn’t always protected activity

12/09/2021

Countless federal laws make it illegal for employers to retaliate against employees for engaging in protected activities such as reporting alleged discrimination or unfair labor practices. However, not all employee complaints earn protection against retaliation.

How not to lay off employees

12/09/2021

If you ever have to lay off hundreds of employees, don’t do it the way the CEO of Better.com did on Dec. 1.

No need to tell employee why she was fired

11/29/2021

When terminating an employee, you don’t necessarily have to explain the exact reason for your decision. However, you must still document your rationale at the time you decide to fire. If the employee sues, a court will want to see when and why you arrived at the decision, all documented at the time.

Can you fire employee for saying, “Let’s go, Brandon!”?

11/18/2021

Southwest Airlines is investigating a pilot for saying, “Let’s go, Brandon!” during an in-flight announcement. Southwest sent a reminder to staff that “public expressions of personal opinions while on duty is unacceptable.”

Firing during FMLA leave? Prove FMLA wasn’t reason

11/04/2021

Employees cannot be fired for taking FMLA leave. If you must terminate someone who has taken FMLA leave, be prepared to show it had nothing to do with their leave-taking. Do that by contemporaneously documenting what led to the termination and when you made the decision to fire.