Managing People - Firing Employees
Avoiding a Lawsuit

Avoiding a Lawsuit

You need to remember that abiding by the law and being able to prove to a hostile jury that you have done so are two very different things. If you end up in court, you need to have a rock-solid case against any employee you fire. You should take whatever preventive steps you can to avoid the possibility of a suit altogether.

Create a paper trail long before termination is seriously considered. Write summaries regarding specific performance problems that were cited via direct verbal warnings to the employee and file a copy in his or her employment records. Be sure that you have issued the employee at least two written warnings.

If the employee knows and appreciates that you have tried to work with him or her towards improving such job performance, this can decrease the chance of a lawsuit.

How you handle a problem employee’s performance reviews are critical. The recent reviews should not be positive. This is often a problem because employers, supervisors, and managers hesitate to write and present to an employee a negative review, even if such a review is warranted. If, during the review process, you give into the human temptation to say something like “your work really isn’t all that bad” or “I know your work is improving,” you are planting the seeds of a discrimination suit.