Introduction
In this assessment, you will prepare a manager with the necessary documents required to terminate an employee.
Wrongful termination occurs when employment is terminated for illegal reasons or if company policy is violated when the employee is fired. HR practitioners and members of management need to be informed about how to properly handle the termination process to ensure that the employee’s rights are not violated, and to ensure that the organization avoids a potentially costly wrongful termination lawsuit.
Generally, most employees are considered to be covered under the contractual “employment at will” relationship (except those covered by a collective bargaining agreement), which means an employer can terminate employment at any time, for any reason. However, wrongful termination can exist if discrimination is involved in the termination decision or if due process is not followed during the termination process.
During this assessment, you will explore topics related to termination in the workplace. You will consider what is permissible under the law as a rationale for termination and you will consider termination as it relates to employment at will versus contract relationships. You will also consider the impact of employment at will and the effect it has on an employer’s liability for wrongful termination.
In this assessment, you will review the employment laws considered for each of the topics presented in this course. Termination is never easy for anyone involved, but at times is necessary for the efficiency of the company. In this scenario, as an HR generalist, you have been tasked with preparing a manager with the necessary documents required to terminate an employee.
Consider the following scenario:
Sam has been an employee with the agency for almost a year. He is often late for his shift and his work products are less than stellar. He often gets into verbal arguments with coworkers and has been warned several times about his conduct. The manager now informs you that while in his office he heard a loud bang. He went to investigate only to realize that Sam had smashed his computer on the floor because he could not get an application to work. The manager felt that Sam has violated company conduct policies and wants to terminate him.
In a 3–4 page paper:
- Describe constructive discharge. How does this differ from wrongful termination?
- Analyze the policy and procedure used in the event of an employee termination.
- Describe the elements of due process and just cause. Do you feel that all employers should meet these standards before terminations can take place?
- Explain whether the employment-at-will with exceptions standard provide sufficient protection for employees.
- Explain the process to ensure employees’ rights are not violated.
- Discuss the steps the manager should follow after a termination decision has been made, and how the termination should be handled.