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Terminations

Survive the ‘perfect storm’ by matching pay to performance

09/05/2008

If your organization has plenty of employees but not enough of the ones with the skills you need to survive the economic downturn, you’re going to have to change the way you pay them. Make three changes to weather the tempest …

How to manage pay-for-Performance in today’s harsh new business environment

09/05/2008

If your organization has plenty of employees, but not enough of the skilled workers critical to surviving a down business cycle, you’re going to have to change your compensation plan. Three changes pave the way—finally!—for a pay-for-performance system that works.

Enforce discrimination rules to avoid NYC’s sky-high penalties

09/03/2008

New York City employers, beware: The sky may be the limit for discrimination damage awards. Federal law limits punitive damage awards in Title VII discrimination lawsuits to no more than $300,000 for large employers. New York state law doesn’t allow them at all. But the New York City Administrative Code discrimination provisions allow juries to award unlimited punitive damages …

Rochester paralegal’s job goes up in smoke

09/03/2008

The Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, upheld the firing of Karen Kridel, a former paralegal with Dibble & Miller, PC, in Rochester, for taking smoking breaks. Kridel customarily took two five-minute breaks from her work each day to smoke …

TWC requests $7.35 million for hurricane disaster relief

09/02/2008

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) recently requested $7.35 million in Disaster Relief Employment from the U.S. Department of Labor to help with the state’s recovery efforts following Hurricane Dolly, which barreled through South Texas in July …

Supreme Court rules CHRA sole state discrimination remedy

09/02/2008

The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that employees who want to sue for most kinds of employment discrimination under Texas state law must use the provisions of the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act. They can’t sue under the Texas Whistleblower Act in an effort to sidestep the CHRA’s rather complex procedures or miss its short filing deadlines …

Don’t sugarcoat reason for termination

09/02/2008

Sometimes, you just know that the reason a supervisor offers in a memo or e-mail for wanting to fire someone is going to look suspicious if the employee ever sues. If you can’t persuade the supervisor to reconsider, resist the temptation to help sugarcoat the situation with a neutral-sounding reason. It will only make matters worse when the employee’s lawyer inevitably discovers the memo or e-mail …

Handle with care if older employee’s performance slips

09/02/2008
When some employees approach retirement, they begin to coast. They may think that there’s no way their employer will let them go at their age, assuming management will be afraid of an Age Discrimination in Employment case. The truth is, that worker isn’t untouchable. Here’s how to handle the situation when you discover the employee is still coming to work but has mentally retired …

Go ahead! Fire if worker sneaks confidential docs to EEOC

09/02/2008
Employees who file EEOC complaints may assume they can rifle through company files looking for smoking-gun evidence of discrimination. Bad move. Employers don’t have to put up with such outrageous antics—if they have the right policies in place …

Lawful Off-Duty Activities Statute requires caution before discharge

09/02/2008
Colorado employees are protected from being fired for engaging in lawful activities while off duty that are unrelated to their job duties. Employers should carefully consider discharging someone if it appears that off-duty activities may be a factor. It’s crucial to tie disciplinary action to legitimate job concerns apart from any outside activities …