Quirky Questions

Real Life Employment Law

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A New Question Every Week

Nearly every day, executives and managers, and the in-house counsel and Human Resources professionals who work with them, are confronted with unanticipated questions regarding the workforce. Just when they think they have "seen it all," along comes a new and often stranger scenario involving an odd twist to an area they thought they fully understood. These individuals often find themselves back at square one when trying to construct an appropriate response and devise a creative solution to the problem presented. Sometimes these "Quirky Questions" can be resolved easily; other times, they implicate practical and legal issues that are not immediately apparent.

This Quirky Employment Questions Blog addresses unanticipated questions regarding the workforce.

We encourage you to submit your thoughts and reactions to the questions presented. We also encourage you to submit questions that you would like to see addressed, subject to these guidelines.

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Tagged: Termination

In a Common Sense Decision, Appellate Court Clarifies Deadline for Employers to Issue Wage Statements under Labor Code Section 226

In a Common Sense Decision, Appellate Court Clarifies Deadline for Employers to Issue Wage Statements under Labor Code Section 226

 

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It’s a situation any Human Resources professional might find themselves in – circumstances require you to effectuate a termination in short order and you have to scramble to calculate the employees’ correct final pay and prepare a paycheck. But what if the wage statement is not ready? Does the law require employers to provide a wage statement to a terminated...

POSTED IN California Questions, Discipline and Discharge, Wage and Hour Issues
For Any Lawful Reason: Firing an at-will employee under dubious circumstances need not lead to liability if the reason for the firing was not illegal

For Any Lawful Reason: Firing an at-will employee under dubious circumstances need not lead to liability if the reason for the firing was not illegal

 

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A recent decision from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals highlights the distinction between firing an employee for personal or politically expedient reasons (which may be entirely legal) and firing an employee because of his or her protected status or for exercising protected rights (which is typically illegal). The decisive question answered in this case was can an employer terminate...

POSTED IN At Will Employment, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Retaliation
Bawdy Behavior Outside of Work, Quirky Question # 151

Bawdy Behavior Outside of Work, Quirky Question # 151

 

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Quirky Question #151 We have several employees who periodically engage in somewhat bawdy behavior outside of work. (Surprise, surprise, sometimes alcohol is involved.) We don’t believe this behavior is consistent with the image our company would like to project. Can we discipline these employees for their conduct (which invariably is reported back to us)? Can we fire them?

POSTED IN Discipline and Discharge