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Terminations

What’s the legal standard for firing an executive for behaving inappropriately?

04/30/2014
Q. We recently held a three-day meeting and on the second night one of the regional account executives proceeded to drink too much and behave very badly. He failed to show up for the final day of the meeting. Is this grounds for dismissal?

For termination day, how much do we pay?

04/30/2014
Q. Our pay period is Sunday through Saturday. A salaried employee is being laid off on Monday. Should she be paid hourly for time worked during that final pay week?  Does that include the unauthorized time she informed her supervisor she worked on Sunday?

Disruptive behavior? That’s a firing offense

04/30/2014
Employers don’t have to tolerate disruptive and rude behavior in the workplace. You can set—and should enforce—basic civility rules. Not only does that give you a basis for discipline, but it may prevent a problem from escalating from boorish behavior to harassment.

It’s official: New York court reporter really hated his job

04/30/2014
A Manhattan court stenographer’s job dissatisfaction is part of the official record after he repeatedly typed, “I hate my job, I hate my job” into the transcripts of 30 trials.

Fired for insubordination? No unemployment benefits

04/15/2014
Employees have to abide by reasonable rules whether they like them or not. Insubordination remains a reason to deny unemployment compensation to terminated workers.

Court blocks Teamsters’ bid to thwart company sale

04/14/2014
A court has ruled that the Teamsters union can’t scuttle the sale of Will Poultry, a Buffalo food distributor.

Beware firing worker who moonlights while out on medical disability leave

04/14/2014
It may seem wrong for an employee who is out on disability leave to work another job. But firing her for allegedly lying about her medical condition may backfire in the form of a disability or retaliation claim.

Beware retaliation when rehiring after layoff

04/03/2014

When an employee complains about discrimination and then finds himself part of a reduction in force, he may have a tough time proving that the complaint had ­anything to do with the layoff. But if he then ends up being the only employee never recalled or rehired, he may have a retaliation case.

Gather examples if you decide to fire because worker isn’t a ‘team player’

03/31/2014
Some jobs require co-workers to get along and support one another. An employee who isn’t a team player may cause enough problems to warrant termination. But “team player” is a subjective term.

Employees not relocating: What do we owe them?

03/28/2014
Q. We are relocating to another state. While several employees will not be given relocation packages, I do plan to give them severance packages. Is it legal to require them to stay to a certain date in order to receive the severance?