HR - Discipline & Discharge

Employee separations are a common aspect of doing business.  When facing an employee separation, employers may find themselves asking, in the words of Boyz II Men, “How do I say goodbye to what we had?”  Whether the separation is a voluntary resignation or an involuntary termination, employee separations create logistical considerations and legal obligations for the employer under local, state, and, sometimes, federal law. 

Insider threats continue to present a significant challenge for organizations of all sizes. One particularly concerning scenario involves employees who leave an organization and impermissibly take or download sensitive company data. These situations can severely impact a business, especially when departing employees abscond with confidential business information or trade secrets.

How employers address employees’ use of social media as a forum to engage on political issues entails a range of considerations. Social media’s potential to reach an outsized audience compared to traditional venues for political discourse may increase the negative effects of controversial political speech in the workplace.

Parks and Recreation is a beloved mockumentary sitcom that focuses on the lives of several employees of the fictional Pawnee, Indiana’s Parks and Recreation Department. One of those characters is the sarcastic and entrepreneurial Tom Haverford, played by Aziz Ansari. Throughout the series, Tom embarks on several business ventures. One

Employee departures are a natural part of any organization’s lifecycle, yet they can pose significant challenges if not managed properly. Join Jackson Lewis P.C. attorneys for a discussion on comprehensive guidelines and strategies for effectively handling employee departures, ensuring smooth transitions and addressing potential post-departure concerns.

In this episode, Jen reminds employers of their right to say “no.”

In this episode, Jen reminds us why you should always tell the truth when you are terminating an employee.

In this episode, Jen highlights how to determine when it’s time to tell an employee goodbye.

All employers have been there. You decide to terminate an employee because of their poor job performance, but there is a problem.

In the retail industry, when superstars, C-suite employees, and other high-achieving individuals are accused of misconduct, the company has a significant management challenge to address the situation in an unemotional, business-like manner, as well as to consider the optics and ethics of the situation. This article offers strategies on how to investigate and address allegations of misconduct by and against superstars and C-suite employees in the retail industry.

To Terminate Or Not Terminate, That Is The Question.

Whether selling, acquiring, or restructuring a business, the complex issue of employment relationships and what to do with them should be considered as early in the process as possible. There are often sound business and legal reasons, affecting all sides of a deal/restructure, for the selling entity to formally terminate employment relationships with its employees prior to the close of a transaction. This is true even where the parties anticipate that the universe of the seller’s employees will seamlessly commence employment with the acquiring entity. On the other hand, there are also competing and equally compelling reasons not to terminate those relationships, making the risks of doing so “not worth it.”

Terminating the employment of a seller’s employees can mitigate risks of exposure to liability for employment-related claims and provide a bright-line date of termination from employment by one entity before employment commences with another entity. This is particularly beneficial if the subsequent employment will likely be with the entity acquiring the business, and the seller’s former employees will continue to work in the same facility post-acquisition, performing the same functions, using the same equipment and reporting to the same management. A formal and clearly documented employment termination protects both the seller and the buyer.

On the other hand, the costs of terminating employment relationships can be significant. At termination, employees must be paid all wages owed, accrued vacation time, and potentially severance pay. These costs may render employment separation unattractive. In addition, there are practical implications of employment separation that can complicate the buyer’s transition and create unwanted delays in setting up operations, payroll, and benefits. A seller may also decide not to terminate its employees in the interest of maintaining confidentiality about the transaction and avoiding uncertainty about retaining the necessary personnel to promote a smooth transition in ownership.

On March 20, 2023, following an eight-game suspension, Memphis Grizzlies’ two-time All-Star point guard, Ja Morant, returned to play in a NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets. Grizzlies’ fans welcomed back Morant with cheers and a standing ovation when Morant came off the bench after missing a total of

Last month, the National Labor Relations Board issued an important decision (McLaren Macomb, 372 NLRB No. 58 (2023) regarding the inclusion of certain common provisions in severance and separation agreements. You can read the 02/21/23 decision on the NLRB’s site here.