A Guide on How to Avoid Wrongful Termination Claims
At-will employment doesn’t necessarily mean you can fire employees at will. Know how to protect your business from wrongful termination complaints.
Most employment relationships are at-will, meaning you can fire employees at any time for any legal reason or no reason at all. Often, employers hear “at-will” and “any reason” and skip over the “legal” part. In fact, there are many illegal reasons for firing an employee, and it’s important to understand them before you let someone go.
How easy is it for a snap decision to turn into a wrongful discharge complaint? Consider the well-known case of EEOC v. Walgreens, in which a diabetic employee with an 18-year record of excellent service ate a $1.39 bag of chips because she was hypoglycemic. She tried to pay for the chips when her sugar rebounded, but her supervisor, perhaps under the influence of a particularly strident presentation on shrink prevention, fired