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Terminations

Problem employee—and she hasn’t even started!

09/02/2008
Q. We just hired a new employee, but there were problems even before she started. She delayed her start date and provided an excuse. I called her former employer and learned she had lied to me about her prior salary and about her departure date from that employer. If I had known the truth, I doubt I would have hired her. Now the fact that I know she lied to me even before she started work leaves me with the conclusion that I can’t trust her. Can I fire her even before she starts? …

Prepare layoff rationale before handing out the pink slips

09/02/2008

Sometimes, an employer needs to downsize its workforce for any number of reasons. Whatever the reason, document why you need to cut staff before you announce the layoffs. You don’t necessarily owe every affected employee an explanation—in advance—of why his or her job is being eliminated. But you will need a clear, coherent and rational explanation later if one of the employees sues …

Should we have laid-Off employees sign releases?

09/02/2008
Q. Business has been slow and it doesn’t seem likely it will pickup in the foreseeable future. We’re going to have to let some employees go. I’ve heard some employers in our situation ask employees to sign agreements releasing the company from future employment-related claims. Should we get releases from the employees when we terminate them?

Handling layoffs with workers’ comp claims pending

09/02/2008
Q. We need to lay off an entire shift at our assembly plant. A few of these workers are off work or on temporary light-duty jobs as a result of on-the-job injuries. They have workers’ comp claims pending. If we lay off the entire shift, can we lay off the injured workers as well? …

Can I use several criteria for whom to lay off?

09/02/2008

Q. I need to lay off some staff. I was going to select some based on the fact that they were the most recently hired. I was also going to select others who were hired earlier, retaining some who were hired in between the two groups. Is that permitted? …

Differing male and female grooming standards may signal opening for religious accommodation

08/27/2008
Some religions prohibit men from cutting their hair. That can conflict with company grooming standards that set different limits on how long male and female employees may wear their hair. Generally, courts allow such differences … Even so, a man whose religion says he cannot cut his hair may have a religious discrimination case.

Pittsburgh scientist says government axed him for speaking his mind

08/27/2008
Abdel Moniem Ali El-Ganayni, a nuclear physicist, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), claiming it revoked his security clearance and fired him because of his ethnicity, his Muslim faith and his criticism of the war in Iraq …

Ex-Worker charged in killings was upset about a reprimand

08/27/2008
Robert Diamond, the fired worker charged with killing two employees at Simon & Schuster’s distribution center in Bristol on Aug. 1, said he had been harassed by co-workers and was upset about being reprimanded in March for calling a black co-worker “boy.” …

Sorry, no take-Backs on FMLA

08/26/2008
In July 2001, Steven Peters joined Gilead Sciences, a California-based pharmaceutical company, as a therapeutic specialist. In December 2002, Peters took leave under the FMLA for surgery. He took a second leave in March 2003. On April 25, the company sent a letter to Peters, saying that because he held a “key” position the company could not keep open, he had been replaced …

Has accusatory pizza man made his final delivery?

08/26/2008
Two men went to a Papa John’s in Westfield to pick up a pizza. After they left the store, delivery driver Kelly Tharp told co-workers that one of the men had pulled out a gun. Tharp repeated his story to local police, describing the men’s car and offering a license plate number. The men sued Papa John’s for defamation, negligent hiring and related claims …