This audio conference was recorded on Friday - May 15, 2009

Credits:

This program has been approved for 1.5 recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HRCI homepage at www.hrci.org. The use of this seal is not an endorsement by HRCI of the quality of the program. It means that this program has met HRCI’s criteria to be pre-approved for recertification.

Description:

A worker who’s out on family leave has failed to provide you with a medical certification, despite repeated requests. Grounds for termination?

A member of the armed forces returns from a tour of duty with a distracted attitude and serious performance problems. Can you fire him?

A new mom is ready to return to work when you inform her that her position was eliminated in her absence. Does she have legal grounds to sue?

Even garden-variety terminations are legally risky, but when you start to factor in leaves, they can become downright explosive. Is your only option to avoid terminating employees who are on, or just returning from, leave – even if you have legitimate grounds?

Order this in-depth audio conference recording all about the right way to handle tricky situations like these.

Speaker(s):

Patrick Bannon, Esq., is a partner at the Boston office of McCarter & English, LLP, where he represents employers in all types of litigation and advises businesses regarding all aspects of their relationships with employees. He counsels employers regarding a variety of employment issues, including employee leaves of absence, discipline and termination, supervising employees with physical and mental conditions that might be considered disabilities, wage and hour requirements, employment contracts and separation agreements, and reductions in force. He also drafts and reviews employee handbooks and employment policies, and provides preventative training regarding sexual harassment and a variety of other workplace issues. A regular speaker on employment law issues, Bannon is the former co-chair of the Employment Practice Group of the Massachusetts Bar Association.

You and your colleagues will learn:

• How to identify which laws may protect workers who are out because of an injury, a pregnancy, military service, or an illness
• The potential - and critical - interplay among leave laws, and how a termination could open your organization up to liability under federal antibias laws
• The legal timelines governing workers’ reinstatement rights
• What to do when you want to terminate a worker on, or just returning from, leave – and how to determine whether the termination is legal
• Whether you can terminate a worker on leave whose position has been eliminated as the result of an RIF or other organizational restructuring
• Alternate options if termination isn’t a good idea in a given situation