Firing an Employee? Steps to Consider Beforehand

The article, “Firing an Employee? Steps to Consider Beforehand,” featured in New Orleans City Business, provided several steps an employer should consider before terminating an employee, to avoid lawsuits.

Steve Cupp said employers should begin looking at their investigation before cutting ties with an employee by reviewing any statements, photographs, work records and videos.

He spoke Friday at a legal seminar in New Orleans. He said one of the worst things an employer can do is to ignore an employee’s complaint and refuse to hear their side of a story. Steve said employers must bring the worker in and get their side of the story to avoid retaliation. Refusing to do so, he said, gives the plaintiff’s attorney a chance to argue in court that the employer wouldn’t talk to the employee.

When an employer needs to enact a discipline plan for an employee, he said each step needs to be properly supported and documented. He says that before a decision to terminate is made, employers should ask themselves if the action is going to be perceived as fair. Knee­jerk decisions should be avoided, he says.

Steve recommended that managers put employees on notice and give them the opportunity to improve. Moreover, he said employers need to make sure they have this correspondence documented, dated and signed by the employee.

To read the full article, please visit New Orleans City Business [subscription required].