Avoiding the Legal Pitfalls of Wrongful Termination
Manuel Salvacion
Dismissing an employee may sometimes invite lawsuits, which are often costly and drain precious company resources. However, firing an employee and staying out of lawsuit can be attained.
Here are tips for handling employee dismissal with the lesser chance of being sued:
1. It is best to suspend an offending employee first, investigate the incident, and then decide what to do later.
2. The drafting of terms of separation must be done long before a lawsuit is filed.
3. The manager should control the timing of the termination interview and plan it ahead of time.
4. A ﾓbuyoutﾔ of the employment relationship is the best course of action to take.
5. In a termination interview, the manager should inform the employee about the purpose of the meeting is to inform the employee about his termination and the companyﾒs willingness to enter into a termination agreement.
6. The key point of a termination meeting is that the employee is no longer negotiating the discharge but the terms of separation.
7. Generally, the most important negotiating points of the termination agreement are the severance pay and the continuation of medical insurance until the employees finds another job.
8. The company may waive its right to object to any unemployment-compensation claim.
9. The best step an employer can do to help an outgoing employee is to offer outplacement counseling.
10. If a company discovers it has made a mistake in hiring an employee, it is better to acknowledge the mistake at any level, and then move on.
11. Discharging an employee may bring with it the risk of legal expenses ﾖ regardless of whether there is just cause or the company would just like to prevail in the end.
12. Most of the time, employee separation agreements are worth the trouble, effort, time and expenses. It saved the valuable resources of the company.
Negotiating Points
Severance pay is usually equivalent to one weekﾒs salary per year of service. Payment of the employeeﾒs maintaining health insurance is mandated under the COBRA rules. An employer is not required to give severance pay to an employee unless an employment contract requires it.
On the other hand, an employee may negotiate a severance package in exchange for any legal claims against your employer.
The purpose of a severance package is to create goodwill between the employee and the management. The idea of the severance package is aimed at ameliorating any resentment the departing employee might feel against the company.
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