Termination Counseling

Terminating an employee can be one of the most unpleasant experiences an employer faces, but sometimes the decision is necessary to protect business interests. There are legal challenges—most notably the possibility of litigation over the termination decision—and practical business challenges, including responding to inquiries from employees, customers, and other third parties about the terminated employee’s departure; re-assigning the terminated employee’s job duties; minimizing any negative impact on employee morale; anticipating and effectively addressing any potential impact on the employer’s public image; and ensuring that the terminated employee returns all employer property—most notably trade secrets and other confidential and proprietary information—and abides by any post-termination agreements.

At the same time, opportunities exist to mitigate risks and handle the termination in a way that allows the employer to best position itself from a legal and business continuity perspective—from improving employee performance and productivity by appropriately parting ways with a poorly performing employee; to promoting or hiring a more experienced and higher performing replacement employee; to improving employee morale; to resetting performance and conduct expectations; and improving team and company operations and performance.

HOW WE HELP

We are uniquely positioned to help employers meet these challenges and take full advantage of these opportunities to mitigate risks and maximize improvement going forward. We routinely assist employers across all industries and in all areas of the country with making and effectively implementing termination decisions. We also have decades of experience successfully defending employers in litigation alleging wrongful termination. As a result, we have developed deep knowledge of industry-specific challenges and opportunities employers face and are intimately familiar with the pitfalls and traps unwary employers commonly confront. We use this extensive knowledge and experience to guide employers through the difficult, often emotionally-charged process of deciding whether to terminate an employee. And, when an employer decides to proceed with termination, we help the employer implement the decision in a way that best promotes the business interests and minimizes risk. We offer practical, business-centered advice; identify the risks, challenges, and opportunities associated with the decision; conduct a termination risk analysis; and partner with clients to develop a termination protocol to ensure that all termination decisions are implemented consistently and in a way that best protects the business interests and minimizes risk.

We work with employers of all sizesfrom Fortune 50 companies to medium size employersin all areas of the country and across all industries, including the financial services, professional services, health care, hospitality, manufacturing, retail, and technology industries.

We help clients conduct a fulsome and practical, business-centered termination risk analysis that considers not only the legal risks, but also the business risks and realities associated with the particular termination decision. We ensure that clients are fully informed before they make the final decision to terminate an employee and are best positioned to implement any termination decision effectively while minimizing risk and taking full advantage of opportunities.