Category: Discipline and Discharge
Quirky Question # 143: I read with interest your analysis of QQ # 140, dealing with closely held corporations. We are in a similar situation, though we have the sticky additional issue you referenced of the matter involving a family member. This person claims she is entitled to “lifetime” employment. Given that she’s only in her late 40s, that’s a...
Quirky Question # 140: We have a small closely held company. Our owners are family members and a few close friends. Happily, our company has been increasingly successful. Unhappily, one of our executives does not seem capable of growing with the company. We have made a difficult decision to get rid of this at will employee. When we advised him...
Quirky Question # 111: We fired one of our in-house counsel. He now has sued us for a variety of claims, all of which we think are bogus. At the time his employment ended, we required him to turn in his company-owned computer. We are reviewing it and finding that it contains a treasure trove of information useful to our...
Quirky Question # 109: We recently discovered that one of our company’s computers was used to access pornographic websites. Many different employees had access to this computer, but we believe we know who is responsible. In part, our conclusion is based on the fact that he is the only male employee who has access to that computer. We’re thinking about...
Quirky Question # 94: I own a company that manufactures boats. We fabricate fiberglass hulls in one facility and install motors, carpet, seats, steering, etc. in another facility a few miles away. I employ about 200 employees between the two sites. Three weeks ago, one of my major customers cancelled a large order. I haven’t told my employees yet, but...
Quirky Question # 93: I am the Chief Financial Officer of a public company. I recently learned that the Controller of our company has filed for personal bankruptcy. I don’t think that we should have someone in that position who has obviously been unable to handle her own finances – not only because she has access to the company’s finances,...
Quirky Question # 79: Like many companies, we periodically have situations where two of our employees get romantically involved. (We don’t have a non-fraternization policy and don’t attempt to limit these relationships in any other way.) Sometimes, the two involved employees have a great relationship and ultimately get married. Some times, the relationship ends, but the employees seem to work...
Quirky Question # 76: I read with interest your analysis of alternatives to layoffs [Quirky Question # 71]. We have a slightly different issue. Like many companies, we are facing the difficult prospect of downsizing staff. We are a small technology company with operations in the US and an office abroad. Among our professional staff are a number of foreign...
Quirky Question # 71: The country is in a recession. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that U.S. employers reduced the size of their workforces by more than 500,000 employees in November alone, with an eleven-month total of more than 1.5 million. Like every company, we’re considering whether to reduce the size of our workforce sometime during 2009, assuming the...