I know that I am going to be treading on thin ice, but I have a “situation” regarding an employee that has to be addressed before it causes any more problems in the workplace. I am located in Colorado, with a staff of approximately 22 employees. My difficulty is that the server in question is the girlfriend of the manager, who is also my son. I know, stupid situation to get myself into in the first place, but that can be addressed in another post.



“Mary” (the server) and “Scott” (the son) have been having personal problems that I see as irrevocable, and if not, I do not care at this point. Mary comes into the restaurant, ranting and raving at Scott in front of guests and staff, causing everyone to become tense and upset. She has been talked to about this on several occasions, as has he. Nothing has changed and I want to terminate Mary. Is the fact that she is being disruptive enough of a reason to terminate her? And, in doing so, would I be put in a situation of having to terminate Scott as well? Or do I have to put up with their ridiculous antics until I can find a more legally correct way of terminating either one (or both) of them?



Please respond ASAP, as I am at my wit’s end and feel that further disruption of the business could cause irreparable damage.



Thank You,



Maggie

Assuming that the "ranting & raving" was of some personal conflict with her boyfriend, Scott...and not some sort of "opposition" to what she believes is illegal....

Yes.
You can fire you for her behavior.
You do not have to fire Scott (your son) even if he "ranted & raved" back at her.
Why?
You are perfectly within your rights to favor a family member over a "stranger."

Yes, you can legally terminate Mary. You are in an at-will state; you do not need legal grounds to fire her. However, she is behaving in a way that is not acceptable in the workplace; she has been counselled about it and nothing has changed. That's a perfectly legitimate reason to terminate someone.

You do not need to also terminate Scott unless he is also instigating this behavior. If all he is doing is getting his work done while she starts ranting around him, that's not his doing or his fault.

Agree. Her behavior is a problem and you have given her a chance to correct it. Tough as it is, I'd put personal feelings aside and do what is best for the business. You would not have to term both, particularly if she "started it".

I would have a long talk with your son about the position this put you in and let him know that in the future he needs to keep his personal life out of work. If that means he needs to exclude current employees from his dating pool, so be it.