Archive for the ‘Disability Liability’ Category

You’re Damned if You Fire an Employee Who Takes FMLA Leave, Even if She Does Not Return After 12 Weeks

Posted: May 16, 2016 in Disability Liability, Discrimination, Hiring and Firing, Lawsuits
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(I’ve taken about 11 months off from blogging. I’m back, baby.).

Most employers (of over 50 employees) know full well that they have to provide up to 12 weeks of leave under the FMLA and that you generally cannot terminate an employee who is on leave. But don’t assume that means you can terminate an employee who is not medically cleared to come back when her FMLA leave is exhausted. In some cases, doing so will lead to a large verdict in favor of the former employee, as was demonstrated by a recent case from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Esler v. Sylvia-Reardon, 473 Mass. 775 (2016).

The following is from the SJC’s rendition of the possible facts most favorable to Ms. Esler, and I do not represent them as true (the hospital may have presented different alleged facts). Esler worked as a registered nurse in the acute hemodialysis department of MGH. She went out on FMLA leave in December 2008, although there was some hassle from her supervisor about her paperwork. Her doctor suggested that she engage in light exercise and pleasurable activities. So she went to New York City. Her supervisor accused her of “vacationing,” and sounded displeased. When Esler then said that she broke her wrist while ice skating, her supervisor allegedly said “I need to have you back here next week or I can’t hold your job.”

In spite of her supervisor’s alleged statements, to its credit, the hospital extended her FMLA leave past her statutory 12 weeks of leave. However, the hospital said that it could not accommodate her temporary lifting restriction (no lifting more than five pounds in left hand) and need to wear a splint. Esler was expected to return on February 15, 2009. She spoke to her supervisor on January 28th and reported that she was making good progress. Although there was no equipment that required lifting more than five pounds, Esler’s supervisor canceled an occupational health assessment that was part of the return to work process and put Esler on inactive status. The hospital stated that her job could not be accommodated with the restrictions. However, the hospital hired a replacement with less training, who could not have fully performed the job until at least April 6th, a date that was after the date that Esler would have had no medical restrictions.

Esler sued for retaliation, which is prohibited under the FMLA (and most other employment statutes). A jury returned a verdict in her favor of back wages consisting of $567,500 and front pay of $672,686. The judge overturned the front pay award, and this decision was upheld on appeal. The trial judge also overturned the backpay award, but this was reinstated on appeal (subject to further proceedings at the trial court). Because the case was filed in 2010, if the backpay award sticks, interest will add a staggering 75% and counting (12% per annum in Massachusetts), which I calculate to be $425,625. Liquidated damages equal to the back pay could also be awarded. With an award of attorneys’ fees and costs surely on the horizon, the total verdict could approach or exceed two million dollars, even with the front pay being overturned. Not to mention the Defendants’ own legal fees, which are surely sizable.

Takeaways

There are a few lessons for employers. First, if an employee takes FMLA leave, don’t assume that her FMLA rights end after 12 weeks. In fact, the FMLA provides “proscriptive provisions” to protect employees from retaliation after exercising substantive rights.

Second, an employer should take a realistic look at accommodations an employee needs. Although it appears that Esler did not file a disability discrimination claim, she could have. Employers should always consider whether continued leave or other accommodations are reasonable for an employee who has been out on FMLA leave. You should also be careful to not use the FMLA leave in any future employment decision, as that could be deemed retaliation.

Third, train your supervisors to not make comments that are hostile to protected FMLA leave.

Fourth, for God’s sake call your employment lawyer before firing an employee who went out on FMLA leave! A short phone call might save you from a $2 million mistake. If the facts were as Esler alleged, the decision to not accommodate her for a short time was foolhardy and reckless.

As always, the above is not legal advice, just general information.

By Adam P. Whitney, Esq. 617.338.7000

You’re Damned if You Don’t Prepare for Massachusetts’ New Sick Leave Law

Posted: November 17, 2014 in Disability Liability, Drug Testing, Etc., Hiring and Firing, Personnel Policy Fun, Privacy
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Every private employer in the Commonwealth must be aware of the new Massachusetts law on sick leave. From the employer that already provides paid sick leave, to the employer of a single employee, this new Statute, which will be codified at General Law Chapter 149, Sec. 148C, will affect everyone when it goes into effect on July 1, 2015. Employees will be allowed to start taking sick leave on September 29, 2015 or 90 days after their start date if hired after July 1, 2015.

Ignore the Statute at your peril, as the result could be a claim against your company for triple damages and attorneys’ fees, or an enforcement action by the Attorney General, even if you already provide paid sick leave.

For Employers Under 11 Employees

The good news is that you do not have to provide paid sick time. After July 1st of next year, however, you will have to allow all employees to earn up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave a year. This includes part-time and temporary employees. No one is excluded.

For Employers with 11 Employees or More

After July 1st of next year, all employees will earn up to 40 hours of paid sick leave a year. Even if you already provide such paid sick leave, your policy will likely need some tweaking because (1) the statutory sick leave is likely broader than your policy, and (2) your certification requirements might be more stringent than allowed under the Statute.

Part-time and temporary employees count towards the 11 employee threshold. The Statute is silent about what happens if you downsize in the middle of the calendar year from 11 employees to 10 employees or less. My best guess would be that employees would not lose sick time that was already accrued, but that they would stop accruing sick time when you downsized. Hopefully, the Attorney General will address this issue before the statute takes effect.

If you have more than 50 employees, you will have to coordinate this leave with the FMLA and the Massachusetts Small Necessities Leave Ace.

How Sick Leave Is Earned?

All employees will earn sick leave at the rate of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum required 40 hours. Most full-time employees will earn the full 40 hours. Exempt employees paid on salary will normally be presumed to work 40 hours per week. Part-time workers might not earn the full 40 hours, but they may not need to. Sick time must be earned starting with the first day of work, although you need not allow any leave until after 90 days.

For What Can Sick Leave Be Taken?

This is where your current policy may be in conflict with the new statute. Under the new statute, an employee will have a right to take sick leave to care for a child, spouse or parent or parent of a spouse, including to attend the employee’s or family member’s medical appointment. Sick leave is also available for mental illness or preventive medical care. Sick leave may also be used to address the psychological, physical or legal effects of domestic violence, which could include going to court. The term “sick leave” could be a misnomer in many circumstances.

To make matters worse, sick leave can be taken in hourly increments (or smaller, depending on your policy for tracking time). On one hand, this makes sense because sick leave can be taken for a routine medical appointment. On the other hand, it may create a “get out of jail free” card for employees who simply over sleep and are late. The employee could claim that he or she felt ill and take an hour of sick leave. Theoretically, an employee could show up an hour late once a week, claim sickness, and be protected from punishment.

What About a Doctor’s Note Requirement?

This is another issue that may conflict with your current policy. The statute states that an employer “may require certification” when an employee takes more than 24 consecutive hours of earned sick time. A fair reading of this provision is that an employer may not otherwise ask for certification. So if an employee takes 2.5 days of sick time leave, the employer is apparently supposed to just take the employee’s word for it. The employer may not require that the certification explain the nature of the illness or the details of the domestic violence. Even where certification is required, the employer cannot delay providing the leave or paying for the leave on the basis that it has not yet received the certification.

What Penalties Are Available Under the Statute?

Employers are prohibited from interfering with an employee’s rights under the statute, or using the fact that an employee took earned leave as a negative factor in any employment action or otherwise disciplining the employee for using earned sick time. Employers are also prohibited from retaliating against any employee who opposes practices which the employee believes is in violation of the statute or supports another employee’s exercise of his rights under the statute.

The Statute will be enforced by the Massachusetts Attorney General, which has not yet issued any regulations or Advisory. The Attorney General can get an injunction against any employer violating the statute. Penalties, including potential criminal prosecution are available to the Attorney General. Additionally, the Statute has been incorporated into General Law Chapter 149, Section 150, which provides for a private right of action for triple damages and attorneys’ fees. It is not expressly clear if an employee would be entitled to recover for lost backpay in the event of a wrongful termination, or, if so, if the backpay would be tripled.

Other Statutory Provisions.

An employer is not required to pay out unused sick time upon separation of employment. This could get tricky if you combine a policy with paid time off or vacation pay.

Employees can carry over unused, earned sick time from year to year, but may not use more than the maximum 40 hours per year (unless the employer allows).

Employees must give notice if the need for leave is foreseeable.

Employees can make up the sick time by working another shift during the same pay period or the next pay period if both employer and employee agree. In that situation, the employer need not pay for the missed time, and the employee does not need to use earned sick time.

However, an employer cannot require an employee to work additional hours to make up the missed time, or require that the employee to search for or find a replacement employee to cover the hours during which the employee uses earned sick time.

Employers will be required to post notice of the rights under the statute.

Observations

The new Statute will impact all employers, some much more than others. The economic impact is potentially huge. If you have 100 employees earning an average of $40,000 per year, this new Statute potentially just added $80,000 to your yearly expenses, or $80,000 in lost productivity depending on how you look at it. Given the breadth of the statute and the anti-retaliation provisions, there will be little reason for any employee to not use his five days of sick leave a year. The likely result is that some employers will be forced to cut down on paid vacation and personal days. Sick leave will become the new personal day/vacation leave for many employers. In fact, the statute states that if you provide paid time off that meets the same parameters as the statute, you don’t need to provide additional sick time.

Worse yet, the statute arguably prevents an employer from rewarding attendance, as it could be deemed to be a de facto punishment to employees who took leave.

Problem employees will find a lot of room to abuse this statute. Virtually every termination becomes actionable by employees because virtually every employee will have taken sick time in the recent past. It will be the worst employees who will abuse the new law. The result will be that firing these worst employees will become risky. Employers who terminate unreliable or chronically late employees who are adept at gaming the system will risk exposure.

Employers will need to make (sometimes expensive) contingency plans to cover for sick workers. No longer can an employer place the responsibility on the employee to find someone to cover the shift. This will be a big change for some industries, such as the restaurant industry. It is not clear whether an employer can require an employee who is going to use a few hours of leave to be out for the entire shift. Although the statute does not expressly prevent this, it could be considered retaliatory and subject the employer to suit under the statute. The statute arguably requires employers to allow employees to take a few hours off and then show up and work their shift. Some jobs do lend themselves to allowing an employee to take a few hours off, such as a driver, a home health worker, etc. Some employers will face additional costs by being over-staffed to account for being under-staffed (keep in mind that if a replacement employee must report to work, they must be paid at least three hours).

Virtually every term in the statute is defined broadly in favor of the employee, so employers will have to err on the side of caution. For example, a “parent” includes any “person who assumed the responsibilities of parenthood when the employee or employee’s spouse was a child.” Another example is that leave is allowed for “preventive medical care.” Could this include acupuncture? Massage? Dental cleanings? Leave is allowed for medical conditions and mental illness,” so employees who are depressed, have anxiety, or sleep disorders are likely allowed to take leave.

Employers will have the additional burden of calculating sick time earned, especially for part-time, temporary or new employees. You may want to consider simply providing your full time workers the full 40 hours at the beginning of each calendar year, although this creates the possibility that the employee could use days that are not earned.

Be careful about paying people as independent contractors. This is very risky in Massachusetts anyway. Curiously, the sick leave Statute does not use the statutory definition for employee, but simply defines an employee for private employers as “any person who performs services for an employer for wage, remuneration, or other compensation.” Presumably, the Attorney General and the Courts will use the definition contained in the previous section of the Statute, General Law Chapter 149, Section 148B, which is also strict, but which does provide a working definition to distinguish between employees and independent contractors.

As always, the above is not considered legal advice, but is general information only.

By Adam P. Whitney

You’re Damned if You Automatically Fire an Employee Who Has Cancer

Posted: September 12, 2014 in Disability Liability, Discrimination, Hiring and Firing
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I greatly admire employees who are able to work while battling a life threatening disease like cancer. Employers also face difficulties when they learn that one of their employees has cancer, albeit not as great as the employee’s struggles. If you are an employer of any size, sooner or later you will face these issues. The private employers whom I have counseled are, of course, very sympathetic. Most will bend over backwards to help their employee, often to the detriment of everyday operations.

Employers often wonder what they can and what they should do in these situations. Is the employee qualified to work? Do we have to give the employee time off? How much? Does it have to be paid? What do we do if the employee’s performance is slipping? Do we have to allow work from home? Do we have a right to obtain medical information? Can we replace the employee temporarily? Permanently? What if the employee does not want to come back to work? Do we have to provide severance? Do we have to pay the employee’s medical insurance?

The answers to all of these questions is beyond the scope of this article, and will vary according to the law of your jurisdiction and, as to federal law, the number of employees you have. What you should not do is make any negative assumptions about a person with cancer. That’s what this employer appeared to do: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/11/woman-laid-off-cancer_n_5806194.html. It now appears that the employer is facing a public relations backlash, and potentially serious legal ramifications.

Under Massachusetts law, if you have six or more employees, you are subject to the provisions of state law comparable to the Americans with Disabilities Act (which currently applies when you have 15 or more employees). Generally speaking, under both laws, you cannot simply terminate someone because they are disabled or facing a disabling disease, or because you think that they are disabled. There may be protections under other laws as well.

If these laws apply, you have an obligation to consider reasonable accommodations, including a leave of absence. That does not necessarily mean that you have to provide a leave of absence, especially a lengthy or open-ended one. Each situation is different, and must be separately evaluated. What you also should not do is to automatically terminate an employee after 12 weeks of FMLA leave, which some employers have learned the hard way. You may also have to consider work at home, and intermittent time off for treatment, as well as other accommodations.

The above being said, you still have the right to operate your business. You owe it to your business and your other employees to set clear standards of conduct and performance and to hold employees accountable. Cancer does not discriminate. It strikes the best employees, and it strikes employees who are not the best. Some employees will want to come to work everyday, if possible. Others will, understandably, want to focus their energies on their treatment and their family. As an employer, you will have to carefully consider how to strike a balance between accommodating the employee, and not harming your business. I wish I could tell you that this was easy, but it’s not. But if you face it head on like other business challenges and seek sound advice, you can get through it.

By Adam P. Whitney

You’re Damned if You Turn a Blind Eye to a Disabled Employee’s Ability to Perform the Essential Functions of the Job.

Posted: January 9, 2013 in Disability Liability, Discrimination, Hiring and Firing, Lawsuits
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The case of Kogut v. The Coca-Cola Company, Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, No. 08-SEM-01239 (2012) demonstrates that even the biggest of companies, with professional H.R. (and the best lawyers defending them at trial) can make costly mistakes with respect to disability discrimination in Massachusetts.  This is undoubtedly the most complex area of law and it is easy to make a mistake.  For one thing, you will be held to a reasonableness standard, which means that you can act completely in good faith, but someone else gets to determine if you acted reasonably.

In this case, the complainant worked in the Coca-Cola plant in Northampton, Massachusetts through a temp. agency.  The employee was blind in one eye, but that did not prevent him from performing his job duties.  When a permanent position came up, Coca-Cola gave the employee a conditional offer of employment, subject to a medical examination.

When Coca-Cola learned of his visual disability, it revoked the conditional offer of employment.  It’s reasoning was that driving a forklift was part of the permanent position, and it had a legitimate safety concern with a visually disabled person driving a forklift.

Not so fast, said the MCAD.  It noted that for the particular job at issue, a Level 3 Operator, there was no reference to forklift use or operation in the “Physical Demands Analysis” or Job Descriptions, although the Level 1 Operator position did list “operate lift trick” among the essential job functions.  There appeared to be some confusion from some Coca-Cola managers as to which job position the Complainant applied for, but the MCAD clearly found that he applied for a Level 3 position, which did not require forklift operation.

The MCAD further found that, “even if forklift driving would have been required of the Complainant on occasion, . . . Respondent could have determined that, given the number of other available and certified drivers on Complainant’s shift, he could be excused from driving a forklift altogether as a reasonable accommodation.”

It appears that Coca-Cola’s mistake was that, according to the MCAD ruling, “its HR and medical safety consultants never met with Complainant or his direct supervisors at the plant to identify and evaluate the actual position for which he was being hired or to discuss possible accommodations, if required.”  Coca-Cola probably could have saved itself with the “interactive process” that it was required to do.  Had it done so, it would surely have discovered its errors, or alternatively it would have a record that the complainant could not have performed the essential job duties.  But simply relying on job descriptions did not go far enough to either meet its obligations or to protect itself from liability.

If you have a job candidate with a disability, carefully consider your legal obligations.  If you need help figuring this out, call me at 617.338-7000

By Adam P. Whitney

You’re Damned if You Fire an Employee At Will for No Reason.

Posted: June 11, 2012 in Disability Liability, Discrimination, Hiring and Firing
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Massachusetts is, like most other states, an employment “at will” state, which means that you can fire an employee for no reason or any reason, as long as it is not an illegal reason. It follows that you don’t need to tell an employee why you are firing him or, right?

Technically, yes, but this can be risky if the employee is in a protected class or otherwise has a prima facie case of employment discrimination. For example, you would not want to fire, for no reason, an employee who just came back from disability leave, FMLA leave, pregnancy leave, or who just told you that they need reasonable accommodations, etc.

If you have a valid reason, you can perhaps still fire such employees. But tread very carefully and get the advice of counsel before doing so; just because you can legally do something doesn’t mean that you should be reckless in inviting a lawsuit, even one that you might win. You should of course try to avoid lawsuits and MCAD or EEOC claims whenever possible. If you have a very valid reason for firing someone in a danger zone for a legal claim, after consultation with competent counsel, you should tell the employee why you are firing them.

Put it in writing even. Think through what will happen if you don’t tell the employee why you fired them. They then run to a plaintiff’s employment lawyer and say that they were fired right after they told their employer that they (were pregnant/became disabled/needed a religious accommodation). The plaintiff’s lawyer will request the personnel file, which will contain no reason for the termination.

Bingo, the employee has a prima facie case for wrongful discrimination. It’s now your obligation to articulate a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for the termination. You see, even though you had no duty to tell the employee why they were being terminated, you have a legal burden of production in discrimination cases to provide the non-discriminatory reason. And what about the fact that you had a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason in the first place, but failed to mention it. You’re just making that up, the plaintiff’s lawyer will say. If you had a legitimate reason for firing, you would have said so at termination.

Wouldn’t you rather defend the case where you had the reason for the termination in writing? I would. Moreover, if you have a detailed notice to the employee about how he (stole company property/lost a key account/harassed other employees), the plaintiff’s lawyer would find that in the personnel file and may not sue in the first place.

If you are considering firing an employee who has a potential claims (and there are many), don’t go it alone. If you need help call me at 617.338.7000. As always, the above is general information and not legal advice.

 

By Adam P. Whitney

You’re Damned if You Fire an Employee Who Gives You the Finger

Posted: April 30, 2012 in Disability Liability, Discrimination, Worker's Comp. Insurance
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I must confess that the title to this post is in very poor taste. You see, this is not about an employee who made an obscene gesture; rather, it is about an employee who injured his finger working for his employer, and ultimately had it amputated. The employer rewarded the nine-fingered employee with a pink slip. The employer would not allow the employee back when he was able to return to work a few months later.

The employee sued at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, and won $50,000 in emotional distress damages, plus substantial interest (I believe that the interest more than doubled the award). The employer, represented by competent counsel, may have paid that much or more in legal fees. Because of procedural and other reasons, the employee did not recover lost wages at the MCAD; he had earlier won $67,500 in lost wages in a related Superior Court case.

Total damages chargeable to the employer are estimated to be around $170,000, plus substantial legal fees. The case is reported as MCAD v. O.K. Baker Supply Co., Lawyers Weekly No. 22-016-12. If you have trouble finding the decision, let me know and I’ll e-mail it to you. The employer was also ordered to cease and desist discriminating from any future discrimination based on disability and to conduct a training session for all of its employees.

There are two important lessons from this case. One, is that an injured worker eligible for worker’s compensation will be considered disabled for purposes of the state anti-discrimination law. This means that you must accommodate such employee, and cannot discriminate against him.

The second point is that a leave of absence can be a reasonable accommodation. How long is reasonable? I don’t know. No one knows, until the MCAD, EEOC, judge or jury tells you if you were acting reasonably or not. That may not sound fair, but that is the law. There are certain parameters that you can consider, such as the impact on your business of not filling the position with someone else. Also, employees generally are not entitled to take unlimited leave for an indefinite period of time. At some point, they must give you a time frame for return.

But each case turns on its own facts and issues, and this is a very difficult area of the law. If you have an injured or otherwise disabled employee (leave could be reasonable for any disabled employee), even one that has exceeded 12 weeks of FMLA leave, do not fire them until you fully vet the issue with competent legal counsel. Call me at 617.338.7000 if you need help with this.

And for the record, an employee who flips you the bird can likely be terminated for the action. That is, unless it’s an involuntary reflex caused by a nerve disorder, an excuse I tried to use in high school to no avail.

By Adam P. Whitney

You May De Damned if You Don’t Understand that Pregnant Employees are People Too.

Posted: December 12, 2011 in Disability Liability, Discrimination
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You just found out that your employee is pregnant, what do you do!? First, take a deep breath and relax. Employers sometimes go a little cuckoo when they learn that an employee is pregnant, but you don’t need to do this. Pregnant employees really are people too. They are in fact the same employee they were the day before you learned that they were pregnant.

I could bore you with a lot of detailed laws on pregnancy discrimination and maternity leave, but you can find that information on a hundred different websites. I’ll boil it down for you. Treat pregnant employees like everyone else, except when you have to treat them differently. Easy, right? It’s actually not that bad.

Generally, you should treat pregnant employees like anyone else. They have the same job expectations as before they were pregnant. Might not they have to go to the doctor’s for appointments you ask? Yes, and so do other employees. Might they become physically unable to do certain physical tasks? Yes, as could any employee. Provide them with reasonable accommodations. Might they have complications and require a leave of absence? Yes, as might any other employee have medical issues that require a leave of absence.

Pregnant employees are not treated that differently for leave under the FMLA (applies to employers of over 50 employees). They get the same 12 weeks of leave that employees with a serious medical condition get, and the same rights of reinstatement. The Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act applies to employers of six or more employees, and the leave required is 8 weeks. This is different because the statute applies specifically to pregnant employees and employees who have recently given birth. There is no other type of employee under Massachusetts law who is entitled to specifically 8 weeks of leave.

Here’s what you don’t do. Don’t decide on your own to put the employee on light duty “for her own safety.” That’s not your decision to make. Don’t assume that the employee is not coming back to work and don’t ask insulting questions or make insulting comments in that regard. Assume the employee is returning to work unless and until she tells you otherwise. Do not eliminate the employee’s job while she is on leave. While it is theoretically possible to do this without liability, it doesn’t look good, and you had better have a damned good business reason. And don’t give extra time off out of the kindness of your heart. Doing so could actually open you up to a discrimination claim by male employees (however, if the employee is rendered disabled by childbirth, a reasonable accommodation could include more time off).

If you have an employee who is pregnant and you are freaking out, or you just have some questions on your rights and obligations as an employer, give me a call at 617.338.7000.

By Adam P. Whitney

You Could Be Damned if You Fire an Employee for (Allegedly) Stealing from the Company.

Posted: September 22, 2011 in Disability Liability, Discrimination, Hiring and Firing, Rogue Employees
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Say what? When I advise employers on termination issues, I am most comfortable approving a termination when the employee has committed serious misconduct, such as stealing from the company. However, even though Massachusetts is an at-will state, and employers usually are on safe grounds to fire an employee who has stolen from the company, there are exceptions.

Take the recent case brought by the EEOC against Walgreens. Walgreens fired a cashier who opened and ate a $1.39 bag of potato chips because she was suffering from low blood sugar, on account of her diabetes. The case was brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Walgreens apparently considered the employee’s actions to be stealing from the company. It is not reported whether there was an investigation prior to the termination. Some reports suggest that the employee planned to or did pay for the chips after the fact.

I won’t comment on who should win this claim without having more facts. What Walgreens should have done was to conduct an investigation, including especially questioning the employee. Given that she was reportedly an 18-year employee with no disciplinary problems, maybe Walgreens should have given her the benefit of the doubt. If she did plan to pay, then allowing her to grab the chips and eating them (and pay for them later) would likely be considered a reasonable accommodation.

In a written statement, the EEOC wrote that “[a]ccommodating [a] disability does not have to be expensive, but it may require an employer to be flexible and open-minded.” That is good advice, when you have an employee who may be considered disabled (which is now very broadly defined), you should always have reasonable accommodations in the back of your mind.

Another situation where you could be held liable for firing an employee for stealing is the case of disparate treatment. If, for example, you do not fire white employees who are caught stealing, but do fire a black employee who has committed the same offense, you could be held liable for racial discrimination. This was the theory that a plaintiff used in Matthews v. Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., 426 Mass. 122 (1997).

Although the employee lost (after what must have been an expensive legal battle all the way to the highest court in Massachusetts) on factual grounds, the legal theory was sound. Employers must be careful to be consistent with their policies, especially in matters of discipline. Of course, this advice is contradictory to the lesson in the Walgreen’s case. As you will read elsewhere in my blog, sometimes disabled employees have to be treated differently. This fits in nicely with my theme – sometimes you’re damned if you do; damned if you don’t.

The takeaway here is that, maybe, you can never be sure that a termination will not lead to an expensive lawsuit. If you cannot fire an employee after you have determined that they were stealing with the company, when can you fire them? I’m not trying to be alarmist. The vast majority of employees who have allegedly stolen from the company can be safely fired. But, as you can see, that’s not always the case. If you do have any questions on whether you can terminate, and how to do it, call me at 617.338.7000.

By Adam P. Whitney, Esq.

You Could Be Damned if You Fire an Older Worker. You Could Be Damned if You Don’t.

Posted: August 30, 2011 in Disability Liability, Discrimination, Hiring and Firing, Personnel Policy Fun
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If we are being honest we must admit that many of us will eventually get “too old” to do our jobs. This won’t happen to everyone. I have had cases against lawyers in their 90’s who were quite capable. I imagine that Jack LaLanne would have been a fine lifeguard or firefighter even in his 80’s. But most of us could not do those jobs in our 80’s.

Don’t take this post the wrong way; I’m strongly against age discrimination. Although I usually work for employers, I’ve successfully represented older workers who have been real victims of age discrimination. It’s ugly. And the resulting emotional and economic harm to an older worker can be devastating. While racial discrimination is often subtle and covert, age discrimination can be blatant and overt.

This post is aimed at the very real situation of a good employer having an elderly worker who can no longer perform all of the job duties. In this economy with people unable to retire, and because baby boomers are aging, this is a situation that frequently repeats itself. Take this hypothetical “damned if you do; damned if you don’t” situation, which is a mixture of real cases I’ve worked on. Say an employer has a much older worker; elderly, in fact. Far from wanting to discriminate, the company feels great affection for the employee, and has kept him much longer than his performance warrants. Let’s say that the public’s or the client’s safety depends on the employee performing his job duties.

What is the employer to do? By letting the employee slide for years, the employer is in a weak position because it has no record of poor performance. If the employer fires the employee, it exposes itself to an age discrimination claim. If the employer does not fire the employee, clients may be dissatisfied, or someone could be injured. Damned if you do; damned if you don’t. There may also be physical issues that make the employee qualified as disabled under state and federal law, requiring that you provide reasonable accommodations before termination.

There’s no magic bullet to this situation, but if it is a safety issue, you have to err on the side of safety. But it is clear that employers must rely on objective criteria. Well-drafted and honest job descriptions, which are enforced for all employees equally, are your first line of defense. Performance evaluations are your second line of defense. If you routinely evaluate, or even test, all of your employees in an equal, objective, unbiased fashion, and record the evaluations, you will be in a better position (You have to be careful that the evaluations or tests themselves are not biased, which could lead to liability). Also, you should have objective and equal responses to the evaluations/testing. You cannot let some employees slide, because you have then set a precedent that will allow an employee to show bias if you enforce your standards against only some of your employees. Document everything when it happens. Employment lawyers have a saying, “if it’s not in writing, it didn’t happen.”

This will cost you time and money, I get that. But don’t look at it as a waste of time. In addition to helping you avoid liability, won’t it also help you to serve your customers? Won’t it reinforce to your workers that the job description is important and that you take it seriously? Won’t it help you to revise your job descriptions if they are not accurate? Won’t you discover where you need more training? Won’t it help you get valuable feedback from your employees? Won’t you weed out underperforming workers and strengthen your business? Only you can answer these questions, but I’d be surprised if you said “no” to all of them. Maybe this isn’t feasible for every company and every position, but if you put your mind to it, you should be able to come up with some objective ways to evaluate employees.

The other advice here is to be honest with your employees. Of course, don’t say “you’re too old” for the job. Don’t suggest that the employee retire. I said honest, not suicidal. In fact, age really isn’t the issue, in spite of what I wrote above. The issue is the individual’s performance. Some people can suffer early onset dementia at age 60. Some people have their wits about them in their 90’s.

Make it about their performance. Don’t try to soften the blow and tell the employee that you’re eliminating the position when you are not. Don’t tell employees that you are moving in a new direction, or seeking some “new blood,” which is code for hiring younger workers. Just be factual and rely on performance issues. It will still hurt the employee, and they may not want to accept that they cannot perform. But deep down, they will know that you are right. I think it is easier to accept that we all get older and lose some of our abilities than to accept that your employer rejected you just because you are older. If you make an employee feel the latter, you may well buy yourself an expensive lawsuit.

If you have any questions on how to deal with an underperforming worker, call me at 617.338.7000.

By Adam P. Whitney

You’re Damned if You Do … Allow Your Employees to Engage in Horseplay (or Chicken Play)

Posted: March 29, 2011 in Disability Liability, Lawsuits, Overzealous Government Regulators, Sexual Harassment
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It’s all fun and games until someone files a lawsuit. That’s surely what one Massachusetts employer thought. In that recent case, decided before the Department of Industrial Accidents, the employee reportedly asked her boss, Mr. Grillo, for health insurance. She alleges that he agreed to provide health insurance if the employee would agree to wear a chicken head costume. The chicken head in question was apparently part of a running joke in the office. The employee refused, and was allegedly given other absurd options, such as e-mailing all of her friends that Mr. Grillo is god, or to come to work with red lipstick and to kiss another employee’s bald head. The case is reported at the DIA as In Re: Cappello, (DIA) (Board Nos. 026109-07 and 022705-07) (March 23, 2011).
In this case, the DIA granted the employee worker’s compensation benefits for emotional injury suffered at work. The claim could even be doubled if the DIA determines that the employee committed serious and willful misconduct.
The employee’s psychiatrist concluded that Mr. Grillo’s alleged harassment was the predominant contributing cause of the employee’s adjustment disorder and her major depressive disorder.
Although this case was brought under worker’s compensation, it has serious implications for other employment laws. For example, asking a female employee to wear red lipstick could easily be construed to be sexual harassment. Additionally, the employee almost certainly, at some point, became protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act and its Massachusetts counterpart, G.L. c. 151B. The employer could have created exposure to itself under these and other theories by harassing the employee and failing to accommodate the employee.
It’s difficult to not allow employees to have a sense of humor. Everyone needs a good laugh now and then, even in the workplace. But employers cannot assume that all employees will appreciate being the butt of jokes. Some employees will be more sensitive than others. Employers better be aware of this and either cease all horseplay, or make certain that every employee involved is a willing participant. Will we see horseplay contracts? This is in reference to “love contracts” which some employers require employees to sign when they are dating one another. I doubt that we will, but you never know.

By Adam P. Whitney, 617.338.7000.

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