Termination
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Arbitrator Reinstates Chrysler Workers Fired for Drinking During Breaks
The workers were fired in September 2010 after a Fox network station in Detroit filmed them during breaks drinking alcohol and smoking in a nearby parking lot over several days.
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Employer Not Obligated to Rehire Poor-Performing Worker Under USERRA: Court
An employer is not obligated to rehire a returning veteran with a poor work performance who was terminated as part of a reduction in force, under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
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Ministerial Exception Applied to Music Director with No Religious Training
According to the ruling, Philip Cannata, who became music director at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Austin, Texas, in 1998, had no liturgical responsibilities because he “lacked the requisite education, training and experience.”
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Veteran Nurse Fired As Transplant Kidney Gets Disposed in Medical Waste
Both a part-time nurse, who actually disposed of the kidney in the medical waste, and a 30-year employee are no longer with the medical center, the newspaper reported.
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Love Takes Work, but Can Work Take Love?
Experts say companies should define their policies around co-workers dating, particularly when it comes to managers dating subordinates.
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'Honest Suspicion' of FMLA Abuse is Justification for Firing: Court
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago said in its ruling in Daryl Scruggs vs. Carrier Corp., that inconsistent documentation provided by Scruggs was enough to justify his termination.
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Court Dismisses Discrimination Suit Filed by Christian School Teacher
The federal district court ruling said the court had stayed briefing on St. Peter's motion to dismiss the case pending the Supreme Court's decision.
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Vulgar Language Must Be Viewed in Context in Sexual Harassment Case: Court
Said one attorney, in cases where off-color language is used, the ruling signifies the importance of finding out 'how that language was used to determine what steps the employer should take and how they should go about investigating' it and imposing discipline.
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Multistate Attempt to Block Health Care Reform Contraception Provisions Rejected
Nebraska U.S. District Judge Warren Urbom dismissed the lawsuit, declaring that none of the plaintiffs' arguments had sufficiently demonstrated the level of plausible direct impact needed to establish standing to challenge the requirement.
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Fired Employee Admits to Hacking Gucci
Just before his trial was to begin, Sam Chihlung Yin pleaded guilty to an attack that cost the luxury goods maker about $200,000.
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State Court Upholds Gay Employee's Hostile Work Environment Claim
Said one attorney, 'This is the first appellate-level case in the country that extends hostile work environment (claims) to the area of sexual orientation.'
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Court: Worker Not Entitled to Free Speech Protections During Employment Duties
An issue in the case was the U.S. Supreme Court's 2006 ruling in Garcetti vs.
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Survey: Health Care Reform Splits Employers
Forty percent of employers want the high court, which is hearing oral arguments this week on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to strike down the 2010 law. Still, employers are far from being united in favor of repealing it.
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Obese Workers' Body Mass Data Aids Treatment
Despite the fact that one in three U.S. adults is obese, claims adjusters often do not ask claimants about their height and weight during the initial intake process of a workers' comp claim, employers and consultants say.
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Health Exchanges Must Notify Employers About Employees Eligible for Subsidies: HHS
Among other things, exchanges will have to provide a notice to employers that identifies by name the employees who have applied for and have been determined by exchange administrators as eligible for premium subsidies.
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Staffing Firm to Pay $148,000 in Pregnancy Suit
The lawsuit alleged HCS owner Charles Sisson discriminated against Roxy Leger, the company's bookkeeper, when he made offensive comments about her pregnancy and fired her because she needed to take maternity leave following the birth of her son, according to the EEOC.
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Lactation Discrimination Is not Sex Discrimination: Judge
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 amends Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to say discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions constitutes unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII, according to the EEOC.
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FTC Warns Mobile App Marketers Providing Background Checks
The Federal Trade Commission has sent letters to marketers that the agency says may be providing criminal background information to employers through the marketers' background screening applications—an activity the FTC says may violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
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Court: Warehouse Can't Fire Contract Workers
A California judge ruled the workers, who are suing the warehouse and staffing provider, would likely be able to prove the firing was retaliatory.
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American Airlines Wants to Terminate Pension Plans
The termination, if approved, would shift billions of dollars of promised but unfunded benefits to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., resulting in the biggest loss ever for the agency.
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High Court Upholds Religious School 'Ministerial Exception' to ADA Bias Charge
In its decision in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School vs. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission et al., the nation's highest court said the ministerial exception bars only employment discrimination lawsuits.
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Archer Daniels Midland Announces Plan to Cut 1,000 Jobs
The cutbacks represent 3 percent of the company's total workforce, according to a release issued Jan. 11.
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Hertz Sued by Fired Muslim Drivers Alleging Religious Bias, Retaliation
Most drove shuttle rental cars for cleaning and refueling during the work day at Seattle's Sea-Tac Airport, while the remainder drove the vans that carried workers to and from the car transport locations.
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Appeals Court Allows FMLA Suit Against American Medical Association
According to the decision, because of the economic downturn, the AMA decided to eliminate the position of Peter Friedman, the communications campaign manager, because his responsibilities had drastically changed.
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Groupon puts Employees—and Investors—on Notice as IPO Nears
The Chicago-based website offering deep discounts on local businesses has been more aggressive in doing performance reviews, starting earlier this year. It raised quotas and began holding employees more accountable to those targets and forcing out those who couldn't hit them.
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Appeals Court Finds Retaliation Claim Against UPS Valid, but Judgment ‘Excessive'
The court said a $2 million judgment against the parcel service in the case was 'excessive,' because the company's actions only caused monetary harm to Keith Jones, a former UPS package car driver and plaintiff in Jones vs. United Parcel Service Inc.
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NLRB Upholds Car Dealership Worker's Firing Over Facebook Post
A Chicago-area judge made a ruling on two Facebook postings, but said one is a concerted activity and the other is not.
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Ex-Sara Lee Executive to Land $2.5 Million in Leaving Firm
According to the filing, C.J. Fraleigh will continue to receive a pro-rated amount of his most recent annual base salary of $597,000 through his termination date of Jan. 13, 2012.
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Buffalo Not-for-Profit Violated Workers Rights in Facebook-Related Firings
A judge rules that the employees’ Facebook discussion was protected concerted activity within the meaning of Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act.
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Judge Dismisses Reporter's Discrimination, Retaliation Case Against Fox News
The EEOC had charged New York City-based Fox News with violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 with respect to its treatment of reporter and former anchor Catherine...
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No Unemployment Insurance for Willful Misconduct
A lower court ruled that the employee was not entitled to reconsideration of the Employment Security Division Board of Review’s decision to reject his assertion that he was discharged as a whistle-blower for challenging UnitedHealthcare’s practices and denied him benefits.
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Courts Ruling on WARN Act Could Benefit Employers
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires employers with 100 or more employees to provide at least 60 days’ notice to workers of plant closings or mass layoffs.
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Regarding Disciplinary Action Toward an Employee, Is Honesty the Best Policy?
The legal benefits from making the effort to explain a disciplinary action far outweigh the discomfort that may be involved.
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New York Labor Department Says Shuttered Hospital Owes Workers $50 Million
State agency is going after St. Vincent’s Hospital for abruptly closing without giving enough notice to staff; hospital lawyers warn claim could ‘derail’ bankruptcy plans.
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Top HR Leaders Among Those Purged by Tribune Co.
A spokesman declined to comment on future plans for the division, saying only that ‘HR will not be outsourced.’
