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Terminations

Tighten up attendance policies, or get ready for an unemployment comp hit

04/05/2010

Here’s added incentive to have crystal-clear attendance policies: Employees who are terminated for violating unclear or confusing attendance rules may end up collecting unemployment compensation payments. Here’s why: Former employees can successfully argue that they were terminated through no fault of their own if they can show that the attendance policy was difficult to understand and comply with.

Pull up a chair: You must have ADA accommodations talk with disabled employees

04/05/2010
Here’s one of the most common mistakes employers make when managing employees with disabilities. They know that generally, the employer gets to choose the reasonable accommodation. But what they don’t realize is that simply unilaterally declaring an accommodation won’t pass muster under the ADA.

Fighting for disabled, EEOC takes on churches

04/05/2010
For several months, the EEOC has been aggressively going to court on behalf of disabled employees. Their successful litigation has paved the way for more disability lawsuits against religious organizations that employ laypersons.

Check all discipline to spot, stop retaliation

04/05/2010

When an employee assists in a co-worker’s EEOC case or lawsuit, employers can’t punish the employee who helped. That would be retaliation. If there’s a short gap between the assistance and the punishment, watch out for a retaliation lawsuit. That’s why HR should always review disciplinary actions with an eye toward making sure there’s no retaliation.

Employee is wasted at work? You don’t have to tolerate it!

04/05/2010

It’s true that the ADA and FMLA require you to accommodate employees with medical ailments—even employees recovering from alcoholism. But take note: You certainly can enforce a zero-tolerance policy that forbids employees to work while under the influence of alcohol. Employers have every right to expect workers to show up sober in the morning. Being an alcoholic is no excuse.

School ‘accident’ leads to suit against Brunswick County

04/02/2010
Anna Stanley used to work for the Brunswick County school system as a teaching assistant. She was terminated after an incident in which a third-grader wet his pants and sat in them for three hours. Stanley has filed race discrimination charges under state law in Brunswick County Superior Court.

Make following instructions a part of your expectations

04/02/2010
Employees who claim discrimination was the reason they were fired have to show that they were meeting their employer’s legitimate job expectations. Employees fired for insubordination have a hard time proving that—especially if their employer can point to specific facts that prove insubordination.

Returning from disability leave, can employee dictate the terms of his new job?

03/26/2010
Q. One of our employees has been out on disability leave for almost 16 months. He says he wants to return to work, but only if we give him a supervisory position without a lot of strenuous activity. We have no such position available. We’ve offered him other positions, but he’s refused them all. Can we legally terminate him?

Terminating for attendance? Don’t make FMLA a factor

03/26/2010
Employers have every right to terminate employees who can’t come to work on time—but not for taking FMLA leave.

Mind your mouth: Ageist criticism more likely than ever to spur a lawsuit

03/26/2010

Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2009 Gross v. FBL Financial Services decision, employees suing for age discrimination have had to prove that “but for” the employee’s age, the employer wouldn’t have taken the adverse action it did. Gross generally benefited employers, but it also raised the stakes. Now, managers’ ageist statements can really have an impact.