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How To Fire An Employee
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Article 1: Follow The Law
You’d think firing a troublesome employee would be a simple thing: “I don’t like you or your work for whatever reason, so you’re gone.”
It may have been that straightforward once, but is no longer. A cluster of federal, state and even local laws protect employees from discharge for various reasons. Although small businesses, because of their size, are exempt from some federal laws, states often extend federal protections to even the smallest businesses.
For example, discrimination protection based on race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy and childbirth, national origin and disability doesn’t kick in at the federal level until a company has 15 employees. Federal barriers against firing because of age start at 20 workers. (The latest federal regulations can be found online at the Department of Labor.
State laws, though, are often more restrictive. Employee protection starts at just one employee in 14 states and only a handful in most other states.
“You can terminate someone for 1,000 reasons, but you can’t discriminate,” summarizes Gene Fairbrother, ShopTalk consultant for the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE).
There are other firing no-no’s as well. If you have either a written or oral employment contract with an employee, you must follow its terms in firing the employee. You can also be sued for breach of contract with only an implied employee contract – a statement in the employee handbook, for example, that indicates employees’ jobs are secure.
You also can’t fire an employee for:
Exercising a legal right, such as voting, even if Election Day is always a busy one for your firm Refusing to do something illegal Filing a workers’ compensation claim
Other than these key exclusions, or the special provisions a particular state may have, you can pretty much discharge anyone at any time for any legal reason under the “employment at-will” doctrine that applies in every state but Montana. (Montana law allows firing only for just cause once the probation period has passed.)
It’s important to check the laws in your own state because many states add special restrictions. In California, for example, you can’t terminate someone based on gender identity. In Florida, an employee can’t be let go for breast-feeding her infant at work. And in Michigan, a person’s height or weight can’t be grounds for dismissal.
Where do you get state-specific information? Good sources are your state’s fair employment agency, its Secretary of State’s office and your local chamber of commerce.
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How To Fire An Employee
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