Q. Our company pays out bonuses in the year after the work is completed, sometimes late into the first quarter. If an employee resigns before the bonus payout date (say,...
Sometimes, you have to take a chance on a job applicant because the candidate pool isn’t filled with as much talent as you would like. Everyone knows picking a...
Child care is expensive, and many parents eager to avoid high day-care costs ask their own parents to watch the kids. That’s great if it works out. But in...
Q. We have an employee who has declined to cooperate in a workplace investigation into an issue that could threaten our company’s operations. Can we terminate the...
Employees often don’t think about suing until after they have quit their jobs and moved on. Then they claim they had no choice but to quit because working...
Q. An employee who recently quit has not returned a company-owned laptop computer worth more than $1,000. Can we withhold the value of the computer from the...
One good way to eliminate discrimination lawsuits is to have the same manager who hired an employee also handle the termination if you need to let the employee go.
Q. As I was reading the newspaper recently, I saw one of my employees featured in the arrest column. She had been arrested the night before for driving under the...
Progressive discipline is a system in which penalties increase upon repeat occurrences. But don’t pick and choose which employees you run through progressive...
Here’s a timely warning during bad economic times: No matter why you discharge an employee or terminate a working relationship, resist the temptation to interfere...
Q. One of my employees who recently quit has failed to pay back a personal charge he made on our corporate credit card. Can I simply deduct the amount of the charge from...
Q. I recently fired an employee for performance problems. At the end of the termination meeting, he asked for a copy of his personnel file. Do I have to give discharged...
The value of unused vacation may represent a hidden treasure for employees who are terminated. And these days, employees will grasp at any straw to maximize their...
Even if someone else in the management hierarchy actually terminates an employee, a supervisor who’s seemingly had it in for the employee can still cause a world...
Here’s a way to guarantee a race discrimination case will go to a jury trial: Let a supervisor with an obvious racial bias participate in the decision to terminate...
Q. We have an employee who does not work very hard, and her productivity is only mediocre. If we terminate her, will she be able to collect unemployment compensation?
Q. We have an employee who has missed the last several days of work without notice. We also have a policy that says employees who miss three days without notice are...
Here’s something to keep in mind when you are tempted to give an employee a choice between termination and early retirement: He may allege that the retirement...
We may have to terminate an employee who has been with us for more than 10 years and has worked with people throughout the organization. When he goes, people are going...