IS this grounds for firing an employee yes or no & why?

Question

Scenario 1 if the president of a company receives a letter that states an employee falsified info. on his job application. ie. he is a convicted felon but wrote he had never been convicted of a crime but at the time of application 7 yrs had passed from the time of conviction, can he get fired?

Scenario 2) If someone tells the president in the letter that this employee is looking for another job, will the company terminate him or just watch over him?

Scenario 3) if said employee is operating a vehicle a forklift which almost caused injury to another employee walikng by, & the letter states he is taking drugs, but the company does not drug test employees. what will the company do? anything?

Please help if u know the answrs to these quest it is for my business ethics class?

For sceanrio 1) the application states have u been convicted of a felony in the last yrs? but 7 yrs had paased when he/she filled out the apllication. so he didnt really lie?

Answer 1

1. yes, they can be fired for falsifying records
2. no they can't fire you for looking for another job, unless you're looking while you're at work
3. yes, they can be fired for drug use on the job. I had to fire a lady for drinking on the job.

Answer 2

Scenario 1: Yes he can get fired. Most job applications that I have filled out have a place where you sign that basically states that the above information to you knowledge is true to the best of your knowledge. If they find that you have lied on the application you will be out of consideration for the job or if already employed is ground for immediate dissmisal. So yes he can get fired. They did not put a time limit on when the conviction was. He signed the application agreeing that all information was correct and it wasn't. He falsified information and signed it was correct. So as long as that was on the application (the signature thing) yes they can terminate him.

Scenario 2: I do not think the company can fire someone just for looking for other employment. They have to have a justifiable reason for firing someone otherwise they can face a lawsuit for unlawful termination.

Scenario 3: I think many companies have in place a policy where if a person causes an accident on the job they have to get drug tested or have the blood alcohol level tested. Also anytime a company has people that operated heavy machinery they are generally tested anyway.

Technically I do not think they can terminate this person based off a letter someone states he's taking drugs. I would think they would have to have him drug tested otherwise there is nothing they can do about it. They can not take someone's word on that kind of thing because you would have a lot more people fired just off of someone's word.

Answer 3

First of all anything that comes in the form of a letter, especially anonymously should be viewed skeptically. It may be an ex or coworker with a grudge. In situation 1, if it is true and verified, then the company is justified in termination for falsifying the application. In 2 if an employee is looking for a job that is not grounds for termination. If anything there is probably an issue that can be resolved by talking it out, maybe even resulting in the employee staying at their current job. In 3 if the company does not have a policy covering drug use or testing then they screwed up. Many legalities relate to question 3 depending on your location and I don't think there is a blanket answer to cover the question adequately.

Answer 4

Scenario 1; The employee can get fired but it's up to the company. If he is a good employee and they want to keep him, they are gracious and it would benefit them as well. If he is not a good employee, then his job is at risk.

Scenario 2: The company should not terminate him but some do. This isn't very ethical as everyone has a right to better themselves but some bosses do fire people for this. In this case, the employee can collect unemployment since he/she did nothing to get fired.

Scenario 3: The company should reprimand the employee and drug test that particular employee. After documenting the incident, the employer should be on watch for any other peculiar behavior from the employee and if the employee continues to jeopardize the safety of others, then the employee will need to be terminated.

Answer 5

1. The employee lied on his application. He should have stated the facts no matter how many years have gone by. Fire him? Depends on the current work ethics, how he's been employed, etc.

2. Forget it. Can't watch over every single employee because they might be looking for another job. Silly.

3. On the job injury & suspicion of drugs? Sheesh, warn the employee, give him unpaid leave of absence or whatever. Then add drug testing to the application process & random drug testing to all current forklift drivers.

Answer 6

#1 an employer can fire you for almost anything now days. If he lied on his application, yes I would think the Company has the right to fire him, remember Companies can have their own policies as well.
#2 I would think the Company would wait for him/her to quit within a reasonable time, if not then possibly terminate them for reasons above.
#3 If an employee is taking drugs or drinking while working is a crime in itself. If the Company doesn't drug test but they get heat of what this person is doing, I am almost postive it would be grounds for dismissal.. Good Luck with your Class..

Answer 7

1) Yes because it's lying for one thing.
2) I don't think you canget fired for looking at other employment options. It's nonee of their business unless it's interfering with your current job.
3) I would think they would investigate as to why the accident nearly occured. If it was carelessness, then that could be grounds for termination or disiplinary action. As far as drugs go, I don't know. I don't think they can do anything without proof. It would also depend on who sent the letter. That makes a huge difference.

Answer 8

1. Yes he can be fired because he lied on the application.
2. Not until he actually starts another job and then only maybe. Many employers have a rule against moonlighting and won't let you do it.
3. They can't fire you for drug use until they can prove it or you can turn around and sue them.

Answer 9

When firing someone, a company will always go back to Policy. Somewhere, every company has a book of policies. They are within their rights to fire someone if he breaks a policy. For instance, I work in a hospital. It is the policy of the hospital to fire on the spot anyone who breaks rules of confidentiality. I hope this helps.

Answer 10

In scenario 1 only, he could, but why, if his performance was ok?

In scenario 2, it's up to you. Again performance would be an issue.

In scenario 3, absolutely. You are liable for his actions and absolutely must terminate him.

'nuff said?