My husband pushed a colleague at work. He was in his face and my husband felt threatened. The guy went into the manager’s office; the police were called, and my husband was fired. The other guy regretted this and is coming to court this week to support my husband and drop the charges. The company said my husband could either retire or resign. We want to clear his name and fight this. He has been with the company for 20 years and has never had an incident. Does he have a chance?
If you’re asking me about your husband’s chances of having the charges dropped, that’s not a question I’m qualified to answer — but, I’ve watched enough “Law and Order” to feel pretty good about his chances.
Getting his former employer to rescind their decision to fire him is less likely.
Even if the charges are dropped, it doesn’t change the fact that he physically assaulted an employee.
Even if just a shove, and even if he felt threatened, he wasn’t touched by the other employee.
An employer has the right to terminate someone for getting physical with another employee.
Last week you wrote that the law doesn’t specifically prohibit employers from asking about age, only that age can’t be a factor in the hiring decision. Why would an employer ask about age other than to help make a decision?
I received lots of mail on this one.
Let me be clear — there are questions an employer should not ask because it could give rise to a claim of discrimination, but that’s not the same as the question itself being illegal.
Do older workers have a more difficult time finding a job? Absolutely.
Does age discrimination exist? Yes.
If an employer is unprofessional enough to ask that question, could that be an indication the answer was a factor in their hiring decision? Yes, of course there could be a correlation.
But, it doesn’t mean it was the basis for the decision. And simply asking the question is not illegal.
However, challenging the decision with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and in court is the right action to take to investigate the employer’s conduct further.
Gregory Giangrande has over 25 years of experience as a chief human resources executive. Hear Greg Wed. at 9:35 a.m. on iHeartRadio 710 WOR with Len Berman and Michael Riedel. Email: GoToGreg@NYPost.com. Follow: GoToGreg.com and on Twitter: @GregGiangrande