Wrongful Discharge Protection

April 13, 2006

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Even if you are an at-will employer, when you terminate someone, you want your reasoning and your actions to be sound and defensible. One way to do this is to have a few basic, clearly stated work rules that have been communicated to your employees. Then, an employee who breaks a work rule does so with the knowledge that the conduct is unacceptable and that such behavior might result in termination. An employee who is aware of the existence and purpose of a reasonable work rule, but who chooses to disregard it, will have difficulty challenging any disciplinary action you may take.

If you want to have a progressive discipline policy in place, you'll need to explain to employees how it works and which offenses merit which warnings and punishments.

Absent a previously communicated policy or rule, it is much easier for an employee to accuse the employer of being arbitrary or discriminatory.

Suppose your employee, Jane, uses the business computer for some personal business. You don't have a formal policy on employee use of office equipment for personal business, but you fire her for it because you feel it's cause for dismissal. There is no way that you can prove that Jane knew that what she did would cause her to be fired. She might even believe that you really fired her because she's a woman.

Having a clear policy against personal use of business equipment would strengthen your position about why you fired Jane, should she ever try to contest it.