Reasonable employers always fare better in court than unreasonable ones. That’s one reason to keep careful disciplinary records showing everything you did to help an employee perform well despite obvious problems. If he’s ultimately terminated, the court probably won’t second-guess the decision.
Firing
There’s danger in every aspect of firing, from WARN Act layoffs and exit interviews to constructive discharge and more.
Learn how to fire an employee and sidestep wrongful termination lawsuits, with battle-tested firing procedures, and employment termination letters. At last, you can fire at will!
Some employees believe that any physical problems that linger after surgery or other medical treatment are disabilities that entitle them to ADA protection. That’s not true. Disabilities are permanent. Temporary, post-surgical problems don’t qualify.
It’s usually enough for an employee to file a complaint with the EEOC, which is supposed to forward the case to the appropriate North Carolina state agency. But what happens if the EEOC never forwards the complaint?
OSHA is suing the Manatee School for the Arts in Palmetto after it fired an employee who complained to the feds about safety concerns.
Did an employee lie about an illness and abuse FMLA leave? As long as you honestly and in good faith believe the employee was dishonest, your disciplinary decision will hold up in court.
Do you have employees who were born and raised in other countries and who therefore speak English with heavy, foreign-sounding accents? If so, be careful how you approach any discussion about their speech. If supervisors or managers criticize workers’ accents, a national-origin discrimination lawsuit may be in your company’s future.
It’s perfectly legitimate to prohibit recreational travel during any approved, paid sick leave. If you also happen to substitute paid sick leave for unpaid FMLA leave, you can still enforce the same no-vacations policy.
If all an employee does is tell you about the diagnosis of her medical condition, that’s not enough to trigger her FMLA rights. For example, the employee can’t just state that she’s been diagnosed with depression and then, the next time she misses work, expect the time off to be automatically considered FMLA leave.
The North Carolina Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act outlaws discharging employees for filing workers’ compensation claims. It’s a protected activity. Equally illegal: Jumping the gun by firing employees before they actually fill out the workers’ compensation paperwork.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said it fired Steve Barto from his job as an environmental group manager because he intimidated employees, used racial slurs and behaved erratically. When Barto sued the DEP for allegedly violating his civil rights, he painted a different picture.
