Firing a Worker Solely for a ‘Terrible Personality’ Is Dicey

Q. I am a supervisor in a small office where several secretaries must share close quarters. There is one employee who never gets along with anyone. She has a terrible personality. She points out every little mistake that other employees make, but she is always making excuses when she makes mistakes.

Everyone hates her, and the atmosphere at work is terrible whenever she is around. Can she be fired because she does not get along with anyone?

--K.T., Santa Ana

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A. Although you mention that this worker has difficulty getting along with co-workers, you do not comment on her work performance, so it is difficult to determine whether there are grounds for firing her.

Unless the employee’s behavior is somehow affecting her job performance or having a direct, negative impact on the performance of the work group, it is shaky, at best, to fire an employee simply on the grounds of possessing a “terriblepersonality.”

More important, you do not mention whether this employee has been given any constructive feedback about how her behavior is affecting co-workers (and work performance). If you are her supervisor, it is your duty to try to rectify this situation before taking drastic action, such as considering dismissal.

Talk with this employee as soon as possible about the situation and her behavior. Perhaps with some constructive feedback and some open and honest communication among the secretaries, the situation can be improved without the loss of an employee. If you are the supervisor, you could serve as mediator, helping to resolve any conflicts or disputes.

If you are not her supervisor, it would probably be helpful if you and other concerned employees discuss this situation with her supervisor.

--Ron Riggio, director

Kravis Leadership Institute

Claremont McKenna College

Uncompensated Class Time

Q. The hospital where we work as nonunion nurses has changed its policy on mandatory classes. During normal working hours when we are sent to a mandatory class (fire prevention, safety, for example) we no longer are paid for that time. It doesn’t seem right.

--A.C., Encino

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A This is a common problem in many businesses. If your employers feel that you should not be compensated for classes that further your education and career, they are wrong.

Under California rules, nonexempt workers are entitled to receive wages for such class time. Even if the attendance is not mandatory but simply helpful in furthering your employer’s interest, the hospital still would have to pay you for your time. The only exception would be if a worker is exempt from these rules by being a professional, manager or administrator.

Consider diplomatically informing your supervisor that you should be paid for your attendance at those important meetings. Argue that a topic such as fire prevention and safety is directly related to what you do at work. In fact, the employer may even be required to train you on these matters.

--Don D. Sessions

Employee rights attorney

Mission Viejo

Suspension of Pension Benefits

Q. I am retired from a union in Los Angeles and am collecting my pension. The pension can be revoked until I reach age 65, at which time I may work anywhere.

I do understand that working in competition with a nonunion employer in the jurisdiction of my home local should be restricted. My question is, can it legally restrict my working in my chosen profession if the work is outside of Los Angeles County? Can it even restrict my employment within its jurisdiction legally until I reach 65?

I am required to report all employment, even selling hamburgers at McDonald’s, or risk stoppage of my pension.

--B.H., Hesperia

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A The laws governing a retirement plan’s right to suspend payment of pension benefits are complex, and it would be helpful to review your retirement plan’s rules. Based on your brief account of the facts, your pension plan’s rule is probably legal if it was drafted properly.

In general, it is permissible for a pension plan to prevent an employee under age 65 from collecting a pension until the employee actually retires or leaves the industry, even if the work is done outside the plan’s geographical jurisdiction.

After an employee reaches 65 (or the plan’s normal retirement age), a pension plan can temporarily suspend retirement benefits for the months in which the retiree works more than 40 hours in the same trade or craft in which the retiree earned the pension. It is important to note that a retirement plan can delay or suspend your benefits in these circumstances, but it cannot take away or reduce your ultimate retirement benefits.

Thus, in your case, the pension plan can temporarily suspend your retirement benefits if you begin working again in the industry from which you retired, even if the work is being performed outside Los Angeles County.

In addition, the law permits retirement plans to require retirees to submit proof of current earnings to ensure that the retirees are complying with plan regulations, even if they are only flipping hamburgers.

--Joseph L. Paller Jr.

Union, employee attorney

Gilbert & Sackman