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Firing

Tell Supervisors to Make FMLA a ‘Work-Free Zone’

11/01/2003

Asking employees to perform even a minimal amount of work while they’re out on an FMLA absence could spark a lawsuit. And firing someone for refusing to pirtch in while out on leave almost surely will …

An unsigned contract can still be legally binding

11/01/2003
Issue: Some courts consider agreements, signed or unsigned, to be valid, binding contracts.
Risk: A manager’s verbal promise could lock your company into legal agreements it must follow …

Firing for ‘moral issue’ is legal but unwise

11/01/2003

Q. Our church day care center hired a woman who, we later found out, was living with a married man. Our director had “moral issues” with this situation and terminated her. I think the termination was illegal. Was it? —L.T., Florida

Firing an H-1B worker? Notify feds first

11/01/2003
Organizations that employ foreign workers on H-1B visas must now take an extra step when terminating them: notifying the federal government. Example: A software company hired a programmer on a …

Mind your P’s and P’s: Patience and proof are best defense against lawsuits

10/01/2003
Some managers are reluctant to discipline minority employees or others in “protected” classes. That’s not smart, and it can come back to haunt you if you don’t discipline all employees evenly. …

Nonunion shops: You can be liable for ‘unfair labor practices’

10/01/2003
Before you lash out against workers who rise up against a pay issue or other working condition, stop yourself. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects employees’ rights to engage in …

Unionized or not, beware of ‘unfair labor practices’

10/01/2003
Issue: Punishing workers for protesting work conditions could constitute “unfair labor practices”, even if your work force isn’t unionized.
Risk: Defending an NLRA claim …

Know best days of the week to hire, fire and do evaluations

10/01/2003
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Privacy: Don’t open employees’ personal mail

10/01/2003
Login Email Address Password I forgot my password To continue reading this page, become an HR Specialist Premium Plus member today! Your subscription includes: Ask the Attorney: Answers to your HR legal questions Compliance Guidance: Access to 7,000 HR news articles, updated daily, sorted by state State-by-State: Summaries of HR laws in all 50 states […]

To claim religious bias, worker must first voice need for accommodation

09/01/2003
A person’s religion is not like his sex or race, something obvious from a glance. That’s why Title VII imposes a duty on workers to provide fair warning of any employment …