Decision Day
HR Beginner
60 Posts
Here's the condensed version of a very long scenario.
After repeated attempts to help a 5-year employee improve their performance, we recently used a "Decision Day" (i.e. Basically, decide to meet job expectations or decide to leave) with them. We hoped she would choose to leave -- But it got sticky...
Thankfully we have scads of documentation regarding poor performance. However, the day after Decision Day, she announces that a 3 month old on-the-job accident, for which she refused medical treatment, is now causing her emotional distress and her poor work performance. She found a FNP-C to write her a note releasing her from work for 3 weeks. In reality, she has been a poor employee for 4 years (documented), it's not the accident that caused her downhill slide.
Is it legal to fire her as we intended or would that be inviting an ADA lawsuit? Any advise would be most appreciated. Thank you!
After repeated attempts to help a 5-year employee improve their performance, we recently used a "Decision Day" (i.e. Basically, decide to meet job expectations or decide to leave) with them. We hoped she would choose to leave -- But it got sticky...
Thankfully we have scads of documentation regarding poor performance. However, the day after Decision Day, she announces that a 3 month old on-the-job accident, for which she refused medical treatment, is now causing her emotional distress and her poor work performance. She found a FNP-C to write her a note releasing her from work for 3 weeks. In reality, she has been a poor employee for 4 years (documented), it's not the accident that caused her downhill slide.
Is it legal to fire her as we intended or would that be inviting an ADA lawsuit? Any advise would be most appreciated. Thank you!
Comments
You are only responsible for acting on correct information that you have at the time you acted. You can still hold the emplyee accountable for the poor performance up to this point -- however, she has now presented you with informaiton which may indicate that a reasonable accommodation is required to allow her to perform the essential duties from this time forward. Whether that is or is not the case, you don't know at this point because you have insufficient information.
You need to talk to the employee and find out what she is sayng aobut his alleged stress. "Stress" by itself isn't a disability under ADA. However, if there is a psychological condition that significantly impairs a life activity, that also relates to the stress, then that is what you will need to work with. At this point, though, again, you have insufficient informaiton to do anything but to talk to the employee and find out what she is saying about the doctor's statement. Is the emplyee actually saying that NOW she realizes or thinks that she has a conditon that caused an inability to perform the essential duties of the job (including meeting job performance expectations). Have her make that clear.
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James Sokolowski
Senior Editor
M. Lee Smith Publishers