Firing Employees: A Legal Guide to Avoiding Wrongful Termination Suits

With every firing, no matter how well-deserved, lurking in the back of your mind is a simple question: “Will they sue?”

Unfortunately, it’s a VERY valid concern.

Wrongful termination lawsuits are the #1 type of lawsuit filed by ex-employees – and many of these cases are won by the former employee.

Even when the termination is entirely justified, your former employee may team up with an aggressive attorney who can bury you in paperwork or even land you in court – stealing time away from your current employees and racking up a costly bill.

But you CAN take steps to confidently fire without fear and not end up in legal trouble.

This 90-minute workshop shows you how. You’ll learn how to minimize your legal risk by making every point in the termination process airtight through a combination of policies and procedures, final warnings, proper documentation, releases, severance agreements and more.

Program Highlights

Keys to Terminating Employees: What’s Required by Law

• Defining grounds for termination: Steps to avoid employee retaliation
• Terminating employees with protected status: Laws you must follow
• Whistleblower protection laws: How to avoid unlawful firing

Documentation Guidelines & Policies that Protect Employers

• Clear discipline policies to enforce: Avoid bias or retaliation claims
• Drafting & reviewing job descriptions: Legal ins & outs
• How employee handbooks can help or hurt your case
• Documentation musts: Notice of performance deficiencies & review

Firing the Employee: Best Practices to Avoid Legal Repercussions

• Conducting the exit interview: What you should – and shouldn’t – say
• Tips for delivering warnings: Oral, written and final
• Drafting effective release & severance agreements: What’s fair & legal
• How to fire someone when it isn’t performance-based

Program Benefits

More and more employees are suing their employers after being fired. What’s worse is that employees are winning – leaving employers to pay the price. In this 90-minute workshop, you’ll learn the best ways to protect your organization from the legal risks of firing an employee.

About the Speaker

Marcia Nelson Jackson is a partner in the Labor and Employment Group of Wick Phillips and has been an employer-employee relationship expert for over 25 years.

Ms. Jackson’s practice includes all aspects of employment and labor law, strategic client counseling, preventative training, and internal investigations.

In addition to representing employers in single and multi-plaintiff employment lawsuits, she regularly represents clients in wage and hour collective actions filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as disputes involving non-competition covenants and employee benefits litigation.

Ms. Jackson has appeared in state and federal courts throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio, and California, as well as administrative agencies in various states. Her clients range in size from local to global companies.