If you’ve been in business long enough, you may have had the opportunity to hire employees. When working with people, you have to not only be a good boss but you also need to be well versed in employment laws. At some point, you’ll have to deal with firing someone, which is never easy and usually not much fun. And, even if you dot all your “i”s and cross all your “t”s, firing someone can still get you into a lot of trouble. By being in charge, you run the risk of being sued by someone you’ve just booted from the company.
How do you reduce the risk of being sued when firing an employee? Follow these 3 main steps to navigate the murky waters:
1. Prepare: Know what the federal and state laws are regarding employment and make sure you are in compliance. Be clear on what the expectations are of the employee from the beginning. Make sure your employee handbook is consistent with what you tell them with respect to what behavior is prohibited and what types of disciplinary procedures will be implemented in general. Review the feedback that the employee has been given to date and explain what the underperformance is or what’s been going wrong. You’ll want to give the employee specific direction on how to get back on track and provide them a period of time to correct the behavior. Notify them that if there is no improvement, termination is a possibility. You’ll want to document your meetings with the employee and make sure that your notes go in the employee file.
2. Execute: Don’t be emotional when you have to pull the trigger. Know what it is you are going to say when you meet with the employee, i.e. that they’re fired, when they need to leave the office, that they’re being fired for cause or as a result of a reduction in force, how much their severance pay and benefits will be, etc. Make sure you have a witness present in case the employee threatens to retaliate. Monitor the employee from the time they are fired until they leave the building so they don’t have an opportunity to steal any information or damage company property. If possible, have the employee sign a release and offer them something in return in addition to their earned severance. Be prepared to receive a claim for unemployment benefits.
3. Be consistent: If you treat everybody the same (be it good or bad), you’re less likely to get into trouble. You have to make sure that you treat your employees equally because there are anti-discrimination laws that might protect that employee if they’re in a protected class (race, color, national origin, religion and sex). You also need to be aware of the age discrimination laws, the Family and Medical Leave Act and other laws that would require you to reinstate someone after they are cleared to go back to work. And, just because you’re firing someone, you still need to treat them with respect. That will help curb any itch the employee might have to retaliate and really is just the right thing to do.
If you need help navigating this tricky area of running a business, let us know. We’d love to help out and make sure you’re in the best position to deal with your employment matters. We can be reached at (703) 319-7868 or through graceleelaw.com.