Terminations

The First Amendment, patronage and political firing

07/24/2018

Public employers that fire workers following a controversial election must show that they would have fired the worker anyway.

Public-policy exception means at-will status doesn’t always apply

07/10/2018

A federal court interpreting Pennsylvania law has concluded that firing a worker for calling in a complaint to OSHA provides protection under the public-policy exception.

Gov’t employees enjoy free speech protection

07/10/2018

Government employees have more protection from termination than most private-sector workers do. Example: They have the right to comment on matters of public concern without being discharged for doing so.

So you discover an employee is job hunting—Now what?

07/01/2018

Say you’re searching an online résumé database and spot the résumé of one of your best employees. You wonder what to do with that new information. The answer: Tailor your approach to that employee, the reason he or she is searching and whether you actually want to retain the person …

Noncompete violation means no unemployment

06/26/2018

When an employee is fired for violating the terms of a noncompete, he won’t receive unemployment compensation because he committed willful act of wrongdoing, which bars benefits. It doesn’t matter if the employee’s supervisor was involved in the breach.

Firing: When and where?

06/21/2018

Firing employees is part of your job. And it’s never easy. But you can make it more bearable by choosing where and when to do the job.

Impartiality required when firing bias complainant

06/14/2018

Trying to fire a worker who has made discrimination claims against her supervisors? Think about assigning an impartial fact-finding decision-maker before you discharge.

Wrongfully termination? Do the math before deciding not to take employee back

06/12/2018

When an employer is found to have discriminated against a worker who was terminated, two big questions arise: whether the remedy will be reinstatement or payment of so-called front pay—the amount the employee would have earned had he not been fired.

Always consult attorney before terminating employee who filed whistleblower complaint

05/30/2018

Internally reporting illegal activity may amount to whistleblowing and may protect the worker from discharge, even if the employer has seemingly legitimate reasons for otherwise firing the worker. That’s one good reason to consult your attorney before terminating a worker who may be a whistleblower.

How to legally deal with an employee’s post-termination ‘vent letter’

05/25/2018

“Vent letters” are becoming more prevalent in the modern workplace. Here are some tips to help deal with this new trend, from attorney Adam Bartrom of Barnes & Thornburg.