Lawful Termination in Connecticut

cherylhr

Hi! I'm fairly new to the HR field and have moved my way up the ladder in a CT company that never had an HR dept. before. So, basically I'm it! We are privately owned and have multiple locations in other states. One of our CT locations recently terminated an employee because when she went to walk a boarded dog (veterinarian hospital), she forgot to harness the dog. You got it--the dog broke free and got hit by a car and died. The manager terminated her. I now have her family and the former employee calling me, and I don't want to call them back until I know if this was an unlawful termination. There are no previous documentations against this employee. We will probably be sued by the dog's owners and obviously had to refund all their money. Any quick help on this would ge greatly appreciated because I've got to make that call.
Thanks!!

Balloonman

Are you a "at will" state? If so, you can terminate for any reason. Second, did she violate any rules? Finally, was she treated any different then others who have broken the same rules? If not I would not worry.
My $0.02 worth!
DJ The Balloonman

Crout

It sounds like she violated rule #1 at any health care facility: she was negligent and caused the death of a patient in her care. So don't worry about the lack of documentation. Progressive discipline need not be followed if the offense is egregious. When the former employee calls, that's what you tell her. Do not lie!!! Killing a patient is as bad as it gets in the health care field. Also, you must never divulge any information to anyone other than the employee. If anyone from her family calls, you tell them that you cannot give out any information...period.

Don D

Crout said it all!!
And I would not dream of billing the owners for anything if the animal was killed through negligence of my employee. I feel the clinic should also pay for any final expenses, burial, cremation, whatever, that the owner incurs. These things are not suggested as a way to try to avoid a lawsuit.....just because I think they are the right thing to do.