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Firing

SoCal hotel steps up after firing autistic employee

12/16/2011
The EEOC and the Comfort Suites Hotel in Mission Valley have agreed to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of an autistic desk clerk who sought state assistance to perform his job but was fired instead. It’s a case that shows how the threat of litigation can sometimes result in greater good.

How should we handle difficult firing meeting?

12/14/2011
Q. We recently decided to terminate an employee based on performance concerns. The employee is in sales and is required to cold call a certain number of individuals each day. In reviewing the daily call logs, the employee’s manager discovered that she has been calling the same disconnected number over and over again … To top it off, she sent an email telling other employees they could do the same. In preparing for the termination meeting, I’m wondering what we should say?

Freeborn County worker blames firing on retribution, bias

12/14/2011
Did frank feedback about a boss’s shortcomings lead to a government worker’s firing? That’s what Rose Olmsted claims in a lawsuit she filed against the Freeborn County Com­­missioners and the county’s director of human services.

Beware perils of interfering with intermittent FMLA leave

12/13/2011
Let’s face it: It makes a manager’s job harder when employees are out on FMLA leave. That’s especially true with intermittent leave. Don’t let those hard feelings turn into an FMLA interference lawsuit. Instead, insist that managers honor approved intermittent leave without hassling the employee.

The easy way to stop most bias lawsuits: Enforce all rules evenhandedly

12/13/2011
It’s impossible to know if a termination will lead a former employee to sue for discrimination. That’s why it’s crucial to enforce all your rules equitably. You don’t want an employee to be able to say that someone else broke the same rule without receiving harsh punishment.

Carefully track angry employee’s complaints

12/12/2011
Do you have one of those em­­ployees who are never happy and always seem to find something to complain about? It may be tempting to ignore the constant complaining or chalk it all up to personality conflicts, but that would probably be a mistake. Carefully document the tension and your response.

When employee complains about bias, take control ASAP to prevent retaliation

12/07/2011

When an employee complains about perceived discrimination, how you treat the worker can greatly affect the outcome if the case reaches court. The best approach: Handle the case professionally, at the HR function level.

Passage of time can kill retaliation claim

12/05/2011

There’s some good news for em­­ployers concerned about retaliation after an employee participates in protected activity such as testifying in another employee’s discrimination lawsuit. If a substantial amount of time has passed since the employee’s testimony, any disciplinary action you take probably won’t be enough to form the basis of a retaliation claim.

Goodyear faces lawsuit over woman’s health-related firing

12/02/2011
Akron-based Goodyear Tire & Rubber faces charges of disability discrimination at a plant in North Carolina after it terminated a woman because she suffers from a menstrual bleeding disorder, menorrhagia.

On to trial for worker advocate’s retaliation claim

12/02/2011
Employees and their lawyers are getting more creative with their lawsuits. Not content to rely on federal anti-discrimination laws, they add claims under state law, too. That increases their chances of making a claim stick.