How to Discipline and Discharge a Poor-Performing Employee Where a workers' compensation Claim has been Filed: Avoiding Retaliatory Discharge Lawsuits

Why Should You Attend:

Disciplining or discharging a poor-performing employee after he has filed a workers’ compensation claim or has complained about an employer action that arguably violates some important public policy is one of the highest-risk actions a company can take. This can often result in the filing of a public-policy retaliatory discharge (“whistleblower”) lawsuit against the employer.

Employers are prohibited from taking retaliatory actions against employees who have been engaging in protected activities recognized by various laws. Employers need to be aware of the retaliation protections afforded to employees and must avoid any perception of retaliation when the employee is to be disciplined/discharged for misbehavior or poor performance, when there has been a workers’ compensation claim filed recently.

This webinar will cover what actions employers can take to minimize the risks of retaliatory discharge lawsuits when taking adverse action against an employee who has performed poorly or engaged in misconduct but has recently had a work injury leading to the filing of a workers’ compensation claim.

The webinar presenter, Jeff Weintraub, representing a hospital, tried the first jury trial in 1986 in Tennessee under this then-new cause of action, a retaliatory discharge suit for filing a workers’ compensation claim. He has represented many employers in such public-policy cases around the country since that time.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• Typical public-policy employment litigation.
• Employer activities that are targeted in such lawsuits.
• Retaliatory discharge lawsuits for filing workers’ compensation claims.
• Recent developments in States that have led to an increase in the numbers of retaliatory discharge actions.
• Damages available to plaintiffs in such cases.
• Identifying the risks where an employee is discharged when a workers’ compensation claim has been filed recently.
• Methods of reducing the risk when employee discipline/discharge is called for even though workers’ compensation recently has been filed on the employee’s behalf.

Who Will Benefit:

• Human Resource Managers
• Administration
• Risk Managers
• Benefit Specialists
• Supervisors
• Business Owners
• General Managers
• Controllers/ CFOs / Financial Managers

Instructor Profile:

Jeffrey Weintraub, is a Regional Managing Partner of the Memphis Office of Fisher & Phillips LLP, a national management-side law firm exclusively practicing labor & employment law. He represents employers in jury trials in employment, harassment, and whistleblower lawsuits, wage and hour cases, labor cases, union cases, and the like.

Mr. Weintraub is included in Chambers USA’s listing of leading employment attorneys and has been included in The Best Lawyers in America for the last 18 years, as well as Mid-South Super Lawyers, and the World’s Leading Labour & Employment Lawyers (UK). He was selected as a Power Player in Employment Law by the Memphis Business Quarterly.

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