Communicating Termination Decisions Requires Humanity

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Russell Cawyer

Last week there was a lot of coverage about Mitt Romney's remarks on being able to terminate those who provide services to him.  In viewing his remarks, I think the criticism of his comments comes, not so much from what he said, but how he said it.  In a somewhat cavalier manner, Romney said he liked have the option to be able fire people; not that he liked firing them.   Here is the context of what he had to say:

Romney's remarks have been construed to mean that he likes firing people; something I don't think he said or meant.  However, I've written before on the dynamics of terminating the employment relationship with employees.  Studies have shown that losing a job can be one of the most stressful life events one can experience --akin to the loss of a family member or divorce.  And while terminating the employment of an employee is not normally easy, it is an inevitable part of most manager, supervisor and human resource professional's job.  

Terminating the employment relationship with an employee is a serious matter and should be treated as such.  When communicating the decision, an employer should be guided by being as compassionate as is possible under the circumstances.  That doesn't mean that the decision is debated with the employee.  Rather, it goes more into delivering the planning of the announcement. Plan to communicate the decision in a way that will minimize the trauma to the employee to the extent possible.  Take steps to ensure that the employee is not unduly embarrassed by the decision.  It is good to remember that we are all human before communicating an employment termination decision, particularly where there is not egregious.  We all have families to support and the decisions made by employers, and the employees who call upon employers to make those decisions, have consequences.  Communicate adverse employment actions to employees accordingly.  And never, never (whether you are running for President or not) tell anyone you like firing people.

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ABA's 5th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference Starts Wednesday

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Russell Cawyer

By the time most of you read this, I will be headed to Seattle for the ABA's 5th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference.  Attended this year by approximately 1,300 labor and employment attorneys from across the country, the ABA's conference provides some of the most comprehensive coverage of current developments in U.S. labor and employment law.

One great thing about the annual ABA conference is that it makes the program materials available on-line.  If you can't get to Seattle this year, but want to review the materials, check out the dozens of papers that will be presented at this year's conference here.

Also, if you want to follow the Seattle Conference live on Twitter, you can by following @abalel or #abalel.

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2008 Term U.S. Supreme Court Wrap-up

Posted on July 14, 2009 by Russell Cawyer

The U.S. Supreme Court completed its 2008-09 term. On the docket were five cases of interest dealing with employment law.  Here is a summary of the holdings in those cases.

  • Crawford v. Metropolitan Gov’t of Nashville and Davidson County, Tenn., (2009) An employee’s participation in an employer’s internal harassment investigation by responding to the employer's questions may constitute protected oppositional activity under Title VII that would support a retaliation claim. 
  • 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett, (2009) Provisions in collective bargaining agreements that clearly and unmistakably require union members to submit statutory discrimination claims to the grievance and dispute resolution provisions of the agreement are binding and enforceable on the bargaining unit members.  More detail here.
  • AT&T Corp. v. Hulteen, (2009) An employer does not necessarily violate the Pregnancy Discrimination Act when it calculates and pays pension benefits based on an accrual rule that applied only pre-PDA, and gives less retirement credit for pregnancy leave than for other medical leave.
  • Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., (2009)  A plaintiff asserting an age discrimination claim under a disparate (i.e., intentional) treatment theory must prove that age was the “but for” cause of the challenged employment action and the burden of proof never shifts to the employer to show that it would have taken the same action regardless of the age of the plaintiff.  More detail here.
  • Ricci v. DeStefano, (2009)  An employer can avoid Title VII disparate-impact liability related to a promotional exam having a disparate impact on minorities if the employer can show a strong basis in evidence that, had it not certified the results, if would have been subject to disparate-treatment liability.  More detail here.
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