We have not one, but two new high-profile employment lawsuits that are worth following long-term: Former head football coach Steve Sarkisian's alcoholism-discrimination lawsuit against the University of Southern California, and the wrongful termination lawsuit filed against the Michigan House of Representatives by former aides to adulterous former legislators Todd ...

Last week, we talked about 20 things an employer should ask itself before terminating an employee. In the interests of fairness, here are 10 things that an employee should ask before suing an employer. You should know that I generally don't believe that lawsuits are the best way to resolve problems. (I realize that there are exceptions.)

BEFORE YOU GO ON, PLEASE READ THIS!!!! I ...

So you think you're ready to terminate an employee. Are you really?

Here are 20 questions that every employer should ask itself before going ahead with a termination. If you think I've missed anything, please feel free to add your own in the comments.

GETTING STARTED

No. 1. Is the employee covered by a collective bargaining agreement? If so, make sure that whatever you do is ...

Late last week, the Utah Supreme Court decided that an employer who terminates an employee for acting in self-defense can be liable for wrongful discharge, if

The employee "reasonably believes that force is necessary to defend against an imminent threat of serious bodily harm," and

The employee has no opportunity to withdraw.

The case, Ray v. Wal-Mart ...

If you have a poor performer, is it better to make a clean break and fire him, or is it better to prolong his (and your) agony?

That is obviously a biased question, but some employers will do almost anything to avoid firing an employee, including the following:

• Nothing
• Issue 8 bazillion warnings but never act on them
• Offer a demotion, or a transfer to a less demanding job
• Let the employee ...

Here's a lesson: Don't call your employee an "old fart," especially if you think you may need to fire him someday.

And don't call his co-workers "old farts" right before you fire the co-workers.

And don't give your "old fart," who has only a first-level warning on his record, three or four "progressive" warnings on the day ...

You're an employer who tries to do the right thing. But what hidden traps are out there, waiting to grab your ankle and yank you into a lawsuit? Here are a few that cause trouble for even the best employers:

Trap No. 5: Capturing all time worked for your non-exempt employees. We get so accustomed to exempt employees who answer emails at all hours and handle business while driving to and from ...

Do you think you have that employee termination all buttoned up, and no one will be able to challenge you? Defending that EEOC charge will be a slam dunk? No plaintiff's lawyer in his right mind would represent your soon-to-be-ex employee?

Are you sure about that? Can we talk?

Don't commit these five firing faux pas*.**

*This is not an all-inclusive list. There are probably more than five.

February is Black History Month, and in honor of this special time, our Employment Law Blog Carnival will feature some of the many, many great African-American musical artists.

We'll start by going back to the turn of the last century, with Scott Joplin, the King of Ragtime. While a child in Texarkana, young Joplin taught himself to play the piano in a white-owned home where his mother ...

Often, when I get a call about a termination, the employee's boss has been primed to fire for weeks and is at wit's end by the time I hear about it. My job, along with that of the Human Resources representative who called me, is to talk the boss down, at least long enough to provide fair warning to the employee and to document the problems.

But every once in a blue moon, I will get the other type of ...