At our recent masterclass, “Exiting with Confidence: Best Practices for Lawful Terminations and Litigation Prevention,” Anne McWilliams, Caylee Scott, and I went back to basics on one of the highest-risk moments in the employment relationship: the termination. We debated whether a back-to-basics topic would draw interest, but preparing for it reminded me why it is worth revisiting — the forms, the severance rules, and the practical landscape around terminations keep changing, and a process that was compliant a few years ago may not be today.
Two themes ran through the entire presentation. First, the obligations are immediate: the moment you end the relationship, the clock starts running on final pay and required notices. Second, treat the employee with respect. An employee will rarely like the decision in the moment, but an employee who is treated with dignity, paid everything owed on time, and handed a clean set of paperwork is far less likely to spend the drive home calling a plaintiff’s lawyer. Here are five key issues from the masterclass that every California employer should have dialed in:
It sounds simple, but it is remarkable how often litigation arrives and there is no documentation of the reason for the termination. If the termination is for cause — performance, behavior, a policy violation — say so and document it that way. Do not take the easy route and call it a “layoff” to soften the...
SEREMBAN: Five people, including a married couple, claimed trial in the Sessions Court here to charges related to the submission of fraudulent claims under the Social Security Organisation’s (PERK...