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Terminations

U.S. citizenship status irrelevant to Title VII claims

07/01/2008
While Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects employees from discrimination based on national origin, it does not separately protect employees from discrimination based on their citizenship status. What counts is alleged discrimination based on the country of origin, not whether someone is a citizen of the United States or some other country …

Review all reprimands so they don’t become ‘Adverse actions’

07/01/2008
Even something as routine as a reprimand may end up being the basis for a lawsuit. That’s why someone in the HR department should be in charge of making sure that all disciplinary actions, including reprimands, are applied fairly and evenhandedly …

Employees robbed, fired … and now fired up to sue

07/01/2008
Four former employees of Ace Cash Express have filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming they were fired for being robbed.  Ace fired all of them for failing to follow a company directive to trigger an alarm if possible during a robbery …

Employer didn’t check records before letting him check a pulse

07/01/2008
A man worked as a paramedic on the Front Range for 17 months before American Medical Response (AMR) discovered he was not a certified paramedic. AMR discovered the forgery when Teel requested a transfer from the Denver area to the Longmont Fire Department …

Terminations: 6 steps to ensure firing won’t backfire

07/01/2008
In most states, workers are employed on an “at will” basis, meaning they can leave the company at any time. Conversely, employers typically retain the right to terminate workers at any time for any legal, nondiscriminatory reason. Courts continue to chip away at the at-will doctrine, providing less flexibility to employers. This has led to an increase in wrongful discharge lawsuits …

Brother, can you spare some tuna?

07/01/2008
Jevic Transportation employees, dumped unceremoniously when the company went bankrupt, have been fighting to get in the gate, not to voice their anger or serve a court summons, but to feed a half dozen feral cats that were accustomed to being cared for by Jevic workers …

The right way to prepare for layoffs … and some alternatives

07/01/2008
Because of the nationwide economic slump, layoffs are a hot topic these days. What sort of employment law issues should HR professionals consider when the possibility of laying off workers becomes increasingly likely? Here’s a step-by-step guide for smoothing out a difficult and painful process …

Severance pay in case of a layoff

07/01/2008
Q. Does Colorado require severance pay if companies do layoffs? …

About those waiver-and-Release agreements

07/01/2008
Q. Are there any special requirements for waiver-and-release agreements? …

‘Offering’ chance to quit may still be constructive discharge

07/01/2008
Employers commonly give employees a chance to resign rather than be fired. And employers often believe that as long as they get employees’ signatures on the “voluntary” resignation letters, they’re in the clear. That’s simply not true …