What is the timeline an employer has to give a terminated employee their last check?

When an employee has been discharged for any reason, According to the Colorado Wage Act, it is required that a last check for a terminated employee be issued to the employee for any wages due immediately, but that timeline can vary depending on the payroll/accounting department of the employer. Because StaffScapes is an offsite payroll company, StaffScapes has 24 hours to issue a check for any discharged employee. However, if the payroll department is onsite where the employee is discharged from, a last check is due immediately. If you have any questions about termination checks, terminations, or other tips on how to comply with employment law, please contact a StaffScapes representative at (303)466-7864.

Even with “employment-at-will”? protections, problems can arise when terminating employees.

Employers that take the “employment-at-will” concept too literally can be looking at potential legal difficulties.  If a complaint is brought to court then a human factor from judges and juries come into play. The human factor can eliminate the “black and whiteness” of the employment-at-will concept and put you in danger of losing a large lawsuit.

Employment Law Attorney Jonathan Segal suggests employers follow these guidelines to protect themselves from the human factor of employee terminations:

            Use progressive discipline

            Use the same person who hired to fire

            Drop problem workers in the first 90 days

            When you document, cite specifics

            Avoid absolutes, but have absolute reasons for termination

            Do not list all of the little things

            Do not describe a problem worker in medical terms  

Top Ten Reasons Terminated Employee Sue Their Employers

1. They don’t know why they were fired.
2. Bad Treatment when fired.
3. Perception of being treated differently from others.
4. Being treated differently by a new supervisor
5. Harassment immediately preceding termination.
6. Employee believes employer doesn’t know the “whole story”.
7. Inadequate investigation of a complaint.
8. Not being treated with loyalty and respect.
9. Loss of control/feeling helpless
10. Lack of financial security.

While the facts underlying the employee’s feeling may not alone be actionable, they are often the motive behind their desire for vindication. Employers may often be able to avoid that employee’s first call to an attorney by understanding termination from the employee’s perspective and taking simple steps.

StaffScapes, Inc. recommends that all employers have a disciplinary action and termination plan/policy in place.  At times a disciplinary meeting with an employee may be necessary. By having a disciplinary plan in place the employee will know what is expected of him or herself after the first incident occurs StaffScapes has developed a few helpful tips to assist and protect clients in this type of situation

The disciplinary tips should include:

• Talk with the employee promptly in a nonpublic area after the offense or problem.
• Avoid an emotional discussion.
• Determine the facts of the situation.
• Emphasize the seriousness of the situation.
• Determine the best disciplinary action to prevent the incident from recurring.
• If possible, agree upon a plan of corrective action.
• Maintain documentation of the events that took

StaffScapes a Denver based Professional Employer Organization (PEO) can help set up policy and procedures as mentioned above. Our Human Resource Department specializes in policy and procedure development, by having a few simply policies in place it can save a company countless dollars and man hours resolving a claim. Contact StaffScapes Human Resource Department or our Sales team with any questions on how a PEO can assist in developing proper termination policy.

Back in March of this year, the Maine Unemployment Insurance Commission overturned a lower ruling and awarded unemployment benefits to an employee that was fired for illegally downloading 800 music files onto her work computer. The Portland Press Herald reported that after the employee was fired, she sought unemployment benefits and was initially denied. However, the Commission overturned the denial 3-0 stating, as the Press Herald reported, the claimant “made an isolated error in judgment when she downloaded the software on the company’s computer and that the action “does not constitute misconduct”.  

What? I must have a different definition of isolated. Illegally downloading 800 files would not constitute isolated in my world. Also, not only did the employer have to pay wages to the employee for this unproductive time, but this could also open up legal action taken against the employer for copyright infringement and media pirating.

The Press herald goes on to report that the Commission ruled that the employer’s code of conduct policy “was not imposed, enforced, or communicated in an equitable manner.”

So what can we learn form this extreme case? Make sure that your policies, including code of conduct, computer and/or electronic usage policies are well documented, communicated and enforced. Contact StaffScapes to review your current policies for proper creation and implementation.

The decision has been made.  You have chosen to end the employment relationship between you and one of your employees.  You suspect that they have been stealing tips from the cash drawer and pocketing them as their own.  You are pretty sure the week’s haul amounts to $425.  Given the suspected amount qualifies as a felony, you want to deduct the stolen amount from their final check.  But wait, is that legal?  According to Colorado law, no matter how much suspicion or evidence you have, you can not arbitrarily deduct the amount from a final paycheck.  You must pay all earned wages due and seek restitution through a court of law.  The only exception is where an advanced deduction for loans, services, product, equipment or other previously agreed upon goods or service has been documented and planned for payroll deduction.  To learn more about final pay, advanced deductions and additional Human Resources assistance through StaffScapes, please call 303-466-7864 or email info@StaffScapes.com.

11,364.  That’s the number of new charges that were filed regarding Sexual Harassment with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) in 2011.  Of the 11,364 cases, 16.3% were filed by males. In 2011,the EEOC paid out $52.3 million is monetary benefits to claimants, and this number does not include awards provided through litigation.  
 

During the past year, the EEOC resolved 12,571 cases and settled 1,367 that reflected current as well as pending cases from previous years.  How did the cases last year resolve?  761 were found to be credible while 6,658 were closed citing no reasonable cause.  1,150 resolved their claims with benefits and 2,635 were closed by Administration. Conciliations, both successful and unsuccessful resulted in 761 of total claims.  In total, 205,996 cases have been filed since 1997. 
 

Keep in mind that these numbers only reflect cases that are filed with the EEOC.  There are thousands of situations that occur in which the victim does not report the incident nor feels safe in informing others of the occurrence.  Sexual Harassment is just one of the many forms of unwanted behaviors towards employees and in some cases employers.  It is also preventable. At StaffScapes, we encourage you to create a policy detailing a no tolerance stance on Sexual Harassment and indicate the consequence for this non-accepted behavior can and will include corrective action up to and including termination. We also recommend providing training sessions with all employees so they can better understand the policy and how Sexual Harassment is defined in the workplace.
 

Should an issue with Sexual Harassment lead to corrective action and or termination, StaffScapes has written a whitepaper to provide some direction.  Our “Avoiding a Termination Lawsuit whitepaper” can be a great resource to answer some general questions.  
 

To learn how this and other suggested and required policies can be implemented within your workplace as well as how StaffScapes can help you with your Human Resources, please call us at 303-466-7864 or info@StaffScapes.com.   StaffScapes is a Professional Employer Organization that has been serving small businesses since 1996 with all of their human resource and payroll requirements, including areas such as workplace safety, benefits, employee relations, payroll and workers’ compensation. 

Source: EEOC