Should One Bad Incident Be Allowed to Spoil a Career?

Q. I recently lost my job with a respected medical organization. Throughout my employment, I regularly received praise and recognition from my supervisor for my performance. I had an exemplary employment history with my previous employer.

Unfortunately, I was dismissed because I inadvertently injected a patient with medication other than what was specified by the doctor on duty. Upon discovering this error, I immediately notified the doctor, who took corrective action. The medication was harmless and the patient did not suffer adverse side effects. The next day I was dismissed.

I am actively seeking employment, and I feel that my previous employer will refer to this incident when prospective employers call for a reference and will not emphasize my other professional skills and abilities. Although I recognize the significance of the incident, I don’t think that my medical career should be ruined because of it. What can I do?

Also, can I still collect unemployment benefits even though I was discharged for this incident?

--R.P., Huntington Beach

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A You have good reason to be concerned. Bad references can ruin a career.

Legally, a former employer can’t blacklist you with other prospective employers. The problem here is that you may be more concerned that they are telling the truth rather than lying about you. If such statements are made, your former employer could defend itself by arguing there’s a need to offer a truthful reference to fellow medical-care providers. Employers would like to know, for example, if someone being considered for a job has been involved in repeated incidents of medical malpractice.

But no employer wants to be sued, and a company realizes that its staff often says too much about a previous employee. I would suggest talking frankly with your past employer about your situation. Get an agreement as to what exactly they are going to say about you. Try to limit their references to confirming a basic description of your job and length of employment.

Consider having a friend call your former employer to check what they are saying about you. If it is a negative reference, write a letter warning that you may take legal action against them if it continues. For more impact, have an attorney write the letter.

In any case, you should get unemployment benefits because your termination did not stem from deliberate misconduct. You simply made a mistake.

--Don D. Sessions

Employee rights attorney

Universal City

No Great Bonus

Q My spouse’s employer issued annual bonuses, and I was astonished by the amount withheld--fully 37% of the gross and 44% of wages subject to federal tax. A normal paycheck had deductions of only 14.6%, on average.

An inquiry with management revealed withholding was calculated as though bonus earnings occurred during one regular pay period of 15 days. As a result, withholding calculations were based on a salary of nearly $96,000, almost three times actual earnings.

Did the employer withhold too much? If so, is this a violation that would require a refund to the employees?

--L.C., Costa Mesa

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A Withholding on a bonus can be figured in one of two ways.

The first method is to withhold a flat 28% of the bonus. The second is to add the bonus to the employee’s regular wages in one payroll period. Because withholding tax tables are based on projections of total income for the year, a paycheck inflated by a one-time bonus could result in excessive withholding.

If a mistake is made in calculating withholding, the employer should return the excess to the employee before the end of the calendar year. Of course, all taxpayers receive a refund of any excess withholding after filing their tax returns.

Withholding guidelines and tables are available in IRS Publications 15 (“Circular E, Employer’s Tax Guide,”) and 15-A (“Employer’s Supplemental Tax Guide”).

--Judith A. Golden

Public affairs officer

Internal Revenue Service

Disability Rights

Q After two weeks on medical disability, I was terminated. When my medical disability ended, I asked the company if I could come back to work. They said there was nothing available, that the company was downsizing.

Have my rights been violated?

--A.G., Santa Clarita

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A More facts are needed to properly respond to your question.

If your employer has 50 or more employees, it is subject to federal and California Family Leave Acts. Under these laws, if your time off from work was for a serious health condition and disability leave did not exceed 12 weeks in a 12-month period, you might be entitled to return to your old job if it still exists. However, your employer would be entitled to deny you reinstatement for legitimate business reasons not related to your leave. If your position was eliminated as part of a downsizing, that is a legitimate business reason.

In addition, if your employer is subject to the Americans With Disabilities Act, it would be unlawful to refuse to reinstate you because of your disability or because you took a disability leave. However, if your position was no longer available because of downsizing and if no other positions are available for which you are qualified, you are probably not entitled to reinstatement.

--Kirk F. Maldonado

Employee benefits attorney

Riordan & McKinzie

Sense Offense Q We have an individual at work whose personal hygiene is absolutely unbearable. My co-workers and I are at wits’ end as to how to handle the situation or whether even to approach the individual. He comes in each day smelling worse than any garbage dump you can imagine.

We don’t want to infringe on anyone’s rights. However, it seems we are the ones whose rights are being infringed upon. Please advise.

--L.W., Los Angeles

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A Someone should inform this individual at once, but that person needs to be tactful and careful. Is there someone among your co-workers who knows your offensive colleague well enough to convey this information? If not, you should mention it to a supervisor or someone else in authority who could convey the message.

It could be that this individual is completely unaware that he is offending others, and may appreciate the information in the long run. Situations like these are always difficult, but being honest and open is the best policy.

--Ron Riggio

Director, Kravis Leadership Institute

Claremont McKenna College