It is a badly-kept secret that the U.S. economy is facing challenges – inflation, increased interest rates, increased labor costs, decreased business growth, etc.
One option for businesses during an economic downturn is to conduct layoffs to save on labor costs. Of course, decisions to conduct layoffs are difficult and, as such, are often delayed until absolutely necessary.
However, the delay often leads to an urgency to implement the layoffs quickly. Don’t risk increasing your litigation risk by rushing. Below are some recommended steps employers considering a layoff should take to mitigate the risk of employment litigation:
Plan and prepare well in advance of anticipated date of layoffs. Substantial time will be needed to carry out the below steps.
Develop objective criteria for selecting employees for layoff. Such factors may include skill set/experience, seniority, criticality of positions or departments, performance review scores, and disciplinary action. It is critical to ensure that if using specific quantitative criteria, such as performance review scores and or disciplinary action(s) that employee documentation is thorough and accurate.
Review layoff decisions for disparate impact. A disparate impact is when criteria that is or appears to be neutral in practice unintentionally results in a disproportionate impact on a protected group. Stated another way, an unexpected number of individuals belonging to a protected group are selected for layoff. When that...
Attorneys for three friends of Nolan Xavier Wells filed six more defamation lawsuits Tuesday in federal and state court, accusing social media users of making false claims about the young men in co...