The Employer’s Legal Advisor

Avoiding Haste in Completing Paperwork

Sometimes we can be too hasty in completing paperwork. I once had such a case before the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A probationary employee suffered a ruptured eardrum, purportedly because of loud noises on the production floor. The treating physician determined that the employee must work in quieter surroundings. The company had no such work and summarily terminated the employee without the benefit of a gentle letdown. The employee claimed that she had been the victim of discrimination because she had sustained a workers compensation injury.

The employee sued and won a verdict. Had the employer not been in such haste to issue a discharge notice, the employee could not have ...