Layoffs

Proceed with layoff if employee you planned to cut suddenly complains about discrimination

07/25/2011

When employees hear rumors that business is down, they often worry that jobs will be cut. One trick they sometimes use is to rattle a few chains and start complaining about discrimination. Don’t let that interfere with plans already in place for a layoff or other workplace changes that you know aren’t related to discrimination. Just make sure you have adequate documentation to explain when the layoff decision was made and why.

Layoff OK after FMLA leave–with justification

06/30/2011

Employees who take FMLA leave don’t get greater protection from layoffs than employees who don’t take leave. As long as you can show that you would have eliminated a job even if the employee had not taken FMLA leave, the termination is fine.

When planning layoff, use objective factors

06/24/2011

When deciding who should get the ax during cost-cutting reductions in force, use as many objective factors as possible. For example, use performance measures that include specific achievements and rankings based on those achievements.

Discuss retirement after layoff decision has been made

05/20/2011

Timing is everything. Suggesting retirement before any decision has been made to terminate an employee may show age discrimination. Discussing it after informing the employee that he’s been terminated doesn’t.

Do disabled workers have extra rights during layoff?

05/12/2011

Q. We have several temporary positions we must fill. A disabled applicant is qualified and we want to hire him but are worried we won’t be able to terminate him after the position ends. Are there any rules that require us to retain him?

It’s a man’s world? Be ready to ‘man up’ in court

04/11/2011

Reductions in force (RIFs) are fertile ground for employee lawsuits to sprout up. But as this ruling last month shows, even when a company conducts a perfectly good RIF procedure, it can be torpedoed in court by a manager’s untimely comments …

Handling layoffs: Can waivers cut your WARN Act liability?

03/14/2011

Mass layoffs trigger employer obligations under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires some employers to provide advance written notice of a “plant closing” or “mass layoff” to their employees. But sometimes, those obligations can be waived. A recent 7th Circuit case—Ellis v. DHL Express, Inc.—held that employees who voluntarily entered into a severance agreement released their employer from liability under the WARN Act.

Considering major plant closing? Determine who is entitled to WARN compensation

03/04/2011

The WARN Act forbids employers from implementing a plant closing or mass layoff until 60 days after employees have been notified they will lose their jobs. Employees on layoff status when the announcement is made are also entitled to receive warning. They’re also entitled to wage payments if, at the time of the notice, they reasonably expected they would be recalled to work.

Plant closings: You must give 60 days’ notice

02/23/2011

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a strongly worded opinion chastising an employer for trying to dodge liability for not giving 60 days’ notice that it would close a facility, as required by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

Arbitrators can decide post-termination retaliation

02/02/2011

Good news if you use arbitration agreements: They apply to former employees who claim retaliation based on protected activity. The potential result: You’re less likely to wind up defending a lawsuit in federal court.