Page 12 - Clothesline - November 2020

PAGE 12 / NATIONAL CLOTHESLINE / NOVEMBER, 2020

KEEP IT LEGAL BY FRANK KOLLMAN

A potpourri of thoughts

stopped posting on Facebook a way that I suspect he and his ployee refuses to talk to his em- not deal with you directly or than statements of confidence
in March, but I still belong to wife will never talk to me again. ployer without legal representa- without a lawyer present, that that you are making the right
Iseveral groups that post on Despite the catharsis I got from tion, that is normally grounds to goes beyond the assertion of decision can be twisted in a later
Facebook. For example, I love writing it, I do not feel good terminate the employee. After protected civil rights. That is in- lawsuit for wrongful termina-
fountain pens, so I belong to a about it. all, employers need to be able to subordination. And when tion or discrimination. I still be-
couple of groups that use and It also got me to thinking communicate directly with their lawyers get involved, the situa- lieve that it is the best approach
collect them. As a result, I still how lawyers can be like Internet employees. tion frequently deteriorates to state the reasons for termina-
need to log on every few days. trolls when they get involved in That does not mean, how- quickly. I know plenty of tion without editorializing or
Plus, my family still posts their matters that could best be set- ever, that getting a letter from a lawyers whose only skill is their expressing any emotions, except
activities. tled without lawyers. As regular lawyer accusing you of discrim- ability to cause more problems. perhaps controlled anger.
Last night, I saw a horrible readers of this column know, I ination or improper conduct to- Another thought I had re- Recently, however, I had a
political post by the husband of do a lot of work representing ward one of your employees is cently concerns the words used client ask about firing a good
a Facebook friend. In fact, he management in labor and em- grounds for termination. It is in terminating or discharging employee who was suffering
posted it on his wife's account. I ployment matters. Sometimes, not, and you should consult employees. In the past, I have from some medical issues that
could ignore it, but my wife had employees hire lawyers and in- your own attorney if that hap- advocated never using words were causing her to miss time
responded, and the creep dou- sist that their employer deal di- pens. The point I was making is like “sorry” or stating that you and make mistakes. The com-
bled down on the hate. I pro- rectly with their lawyers. In case that an employee can hire a “feel bad” about having to fire pany wanted her to take leave
ceeded to take him apart in such you were wondering, if an em- lawyer, but if the employee will an employee. Anything less until she could get the medical
issues under control, and the
employee was unwilling to do
so. I said as long as you have
discussed her medical issues
(which were likely a disability
covered by the ADA), tried to
find a reasonable accommoda-
tion, and her performance and
attendance continued to suffer,
the company’s choice was to fire
her or put up with the problems.
They wanted to tell the em-
ployee that they were “sorry” it
had come to this, which they
were, but I said that feelings of
actual sorrow do not have to be
expressed. It’s too bad that
statements of regret can be
turned against employers by
plaintiff’s lawyers.
Finally, Covid continues to be
a main story for employers.
Dealing with masks, positive
test results, frightened employ-
ees, and insensitive people can
be extremely difficult. Commu-
nication is so important to a
healthy workplace environment,
and remote working, closed of-
fice doors, masks that hide facial
expressions, and other distanc-
ing measures make communica-
tion even more difficult. You just
cannot get the message across
better than in a face-to-face
meeting, and while a phone call
is better than email or texting,
not seeing another person’s face
causes misinterpretations.
I advocate complying with
all workplace requirements re-
lating to Covid, but I encourage
people to continue to talk with
one another — through masks if
necessary — to reduce the loss
of personal connection that is
happening with the pandemic.
Workplace miscommunication
can have disastrous results, es-
pecially given everyone’s
heightened fears of contracting
the virus, and worse, giving it to
someone else. Find a way to
communicate.
Frank Kollman is a partner in the
law firm of Kollman & Saucier,
PA, in Baltimore, MD. He can be
reached by phone at (410) 727-
4300 or fax (410) 727-4391. His
firm’s web site can be found at
www.kollmanlaw.com. It has ar-
ticles, sample policies, news and
other information on em-
To learn more, visit www.natclo.com/ads ployee/employer relations.