Gross Misconduct: How to Fire People the Right Way
Tips for moving employees off the farm if they're not working out.
Mike Wilson
Published: Mar 18, 2010
As a manager you may need to fire people. Some serious offenses - sexual harassment, theft, fighting, intoxication at work, for example - may call for immediate discharge.
If that is the case, focus on three things: How to do it fairly, how to minimize negative impacts on other employees' morale, and how to minimize the chance of a wrongful discharge lawsuit.
A legal and defensible firing builds on actions taken before the firing, says Bernie Erven, who spent a career working on ag labor issues as Ag Economist at Ohio State before retiring a few years ago. It is well documented with a paper trail.
In your role as personnel manager you may need a written set of "progressive discipline" steps: verbal warning, written reprimand, suspension, and finally, discharge.
"If you go directly to discharge without the first three steps, you greatly enhance your chances of having a wrongful discharge lawsuit brought against you," he warns. "The first three steps are designed to give someone a chance to change their behavior."
There are no winners in a firing, notes Erven. "All the other employees are watching this and are deciding who the hero is and who the villain is. That's why the rules are so important."
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Tagged: labor, legal
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