Sometimes Employers Have to Use the "F" Word

Firing employees is never an easy task for employers but there are some situations where you MUST FIRE them immediately! First, if the employee committed a crime against your company such as proven theft and/or selling illegal drugs. Second, you must reduce your staff due to economic conditions. Lastly, you have proof that the employee violated your organization’s policies such as sexual harassment or racial discrimination.

To avoid any potential workplace violence or conflict, SUSPEND the employee without pay, take all your company property (keys, credit cards, etc.) and exit them from your facility. You can follow up the suspension with a termination letter to avoid the employee from returning to your workplace.

Here are my top 5 most InFamous terminations:

1. Steven Jobs – Founder of Apple computers in 1970’s recruited Pepsi executive John Sculley to Apple as the CEO. Sculley FIRED JOBS! Jobs was later brought back to Apple in 1996 and often spoke about that experience as being one of the best things that ever happened to him because he became CEO of Pixar Animation Studios after leaving Apple. The rest is history!

2. Don Imus – CBS Radio announcer of the “Imus in the Morning” referred to the Rutgers University women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hos”. His show was cancelled and he later apologized for the remark.

3. Michael Bloomberg – The New York mayor was fired from Solomon Brothers in 1981, with a $10 million severance package. Bloomberg commented, “was I sad on the drive home? You bet. But, as usual, I was much too macho to show it. And I did have $10 million in cash and convertible bonds as compensation for my hurt feelings”. Money always makes a FIRING go down easier!

4. JK Rowling – Harry Potter books author was fired from her secretarial job for using company time to write her books. According to Rowling’s former boss, “Rowlings use of company time and computers to pursue personal ambitions is tantamount to stealing”. Productive or policy violator, you make the call.

5. David Letterman – While working at Indianapolis TV station WTWI, Letterman described hailstones as “the size of canned hams”, and publically congratulating a “tropical storm” on its upgrade to “hurricane”. Not exactly a policy violation but definitely insensitive.