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Terminations

Can we cut employee pay to reduce costs?

04/09/2009

Q. We are considering layoffs but would like to avoid them. Can we cut employees’ pay because of tough economic times?

Beware last-ditch efforts to claim FMLA leave

04/07/2009

Sometimes, an employee whose job is in jeopardy will try to protect it by initiating a lawsuit intended to intimidate her employer. She may call in sick instead of showing up for a termination meeting, hoping to create an FMLA retaliation or interference claim. Here’s how to handle such tactics.

It’s your right! Prohibit guns in parking lot

04/07/2009

A recent 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision has specifically upheld the right of Ohio employers to ban guns in locked cars on company property. You can and should have a clear policy prohibiting guns at work and in the parking lot. You can discipline employees who violate that rule.

Watch out! Firing employee who needs maternity leave may be sex discrimination

04/07/2009

It’s time to check your policy on maternity leave. An Ohio appeals court has ruled that it may be discrimination if you don’t provide maternity leave to employees who don’t qualify for your usual leave plan because they haven’t been on the job long enough.

Terminated employee asked for reference? Choose your words carefully

04/07/2009

Sometimes, employees who have been fired need to get reference letters from their former employers to facilitate landing a new job. How you handle those references is important. If the employee had real performance issues that might put others at risk, you can’t simply brush them off. But beware the risk of a defamation lawsuit.

‘Dinosaur’ talk can revive extinct lawsuit

04/07/2009

Sometimes, one or two stupid comments are all it takes to fuel a lawsuit. Take, for example, talk that could be construed as ageist. It isn’t unusual to hear managers and supervisors throw around the word “dinosaur” or use the term “fresh blood” to describe changes to the workforce. Is it code for age discrimination?

Use outside investigator to build credibility

04/07/2009

Don’t hesitate to turn an investigation over to an expert from outside the organization when there is any doubt about fairness. Doing so may short-circuit a lawsuit. An independent investigator helps maintain the credibility of the investigation and might be able to spot well-hidden discrimination.

Beware desperate ‘whistle-blower’: Document reason for firing to stop retaliation claim

04/07/2009

Employees are often quite sophisticated about their legal rights—especially when they suspect their jobs may be on the chopping block. When they think of the lawsuit possibilities, they may even try to set up their employers. One easy way
to get a case going is to blow the whistle on alleged wrongdoing.

Texas anti-bias agency pays $900,000—for retaliation

04/07/2009

A jury recently awarded $900,000 to a former employee of the Texas Commission on Human Rights, which is responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination laws, for firing her in retaliation for complaining about discrimination against the agency’s own employees.

Furloughs and unpaid time off create wage-and-hour problems

04/07/2009

Family-friendly practices have suddenly taken a back seat as struggling businesses focus on the bottom line. Now employers are looking for other ways to give employees time off, albeit involuntarily. But when employers impose furloughs, forced shutdowns and reduced work schedules on exempt salaried employees in increments of other than a full week, it can jeopardize exemptions under the FLSA.