EMPLOYMENT TERMINATION OPTIONS

Terminated Employee Options

What are your employment termination options? Well you've been terminated.

In some cases the employer offered a severance package which required you among other things to NOT pursue a lawsuit.

Also, the separation package didn't offer enough incentives to reconcile the unjustified adverse employment actions you had to endure.

Even if the employer never offered a severance package and just fired you, it does not mean this chapter in your employment is closed. You've learned and fought for your basic employee rights, consulted with an attorney, talked with your family and decided to fight for a just resolution to having your job taken away.

You've decided to move forward with a lawsuit. You and your family have been thoroughly informed by your legal counsel what the potential outcomes of suing your former boss may be. Your family is ready to face the emotional, psychological, physical, financial and spiritual challenges of moving forward.

The question now is what's the plan of attack? Any competent attorney will have advised you about your "cause of action". A cause of action is a set of facts sufficient to justify a right to sue to obtain money, property, or the enforcement of a right against another party. In other words, a cause of action decides which laws are applicable to your case and which courts are involved.

Employment Termination Options

Employment Termination Options

The following are some areas of "cause of action" your legal adviser will determine:

Invasion Of Privacy
Employees really need to understand what the privacy laws are where they live. Depending on specific situations your boss can read your emails and listen to your phone conversations. This is especially true if the employer owns the phone and email system.

Also companies have been forced to develop specific internet usage policies that include the ability to monitor the social media sites you visit on their system. If however, your employer goes beyond these clearly outlined areas it could be an invasion of your workplace privacy. Learn all you can about your employers workplace privacy policy.

Workers Compensation
Workers compensation involves issues such as emotional stress, illness, bodily injury or death. Employers provide financial support, medical care and rehabilitation to employees as a result of these things happening on the job. The employee waives the the right to sue and the employer can offer no defense. If an employer seeks to hinder, interfere or deny workers comp it is certainly a "cause of action".

Employer "Trickery"
You accept a position with an organization based on statements made about your position and and any benefits, perks, promised promotions, etc. However, after you accept the job you find out the employer was lying or misrepresented what was promised.

For example I once worked for a company and the "sales" pitch by the HR director was based on my credentials. I would train in house for a month then moved into the lucrative paid plus commission sales force. This was the ONLY reason I accepted that position instead of another that was available.

Employment Termination Options

After about six weeks and meeting the in house training requirements I was unceremoniously informed I was being laid off right then and there! The designated "hatchet man" followed the play book of watching me clean out my cubicle, had me turn in all workplace ids, etc. and walked me to the front door. About a week later I received a call from the HR person that recruited and hired me.

Her conversation went something like this, "Hello Yancey how are you? I just found out what happened and I'm really sorry about that. However, I've been authorized to offer you the same sales position immediately if you want it." I declined the rehire because I had other options. But, it did show she was aware of the possible legal minefield her company had placed itself in.

Also she was aware that I had the employers own documentation validating my conditions of employment promising my hire as a salesperson.

Remember as always documentation, documentation, documentation.

Employers that make fraudulent hiring representations provide employees another potential "cause of action".

Employment Termination Options

Sue Everyone
Another "cause of action" an employee may have involves filing a lawsuit not only against the employer but the offending supervisor or manager. This is called Joint (sue both employer and supervisor) and Several (sue supervisor separately) liability. Most employees do know about this potential advantage.

If you have a manager that's a "loose cannon" who says and does things outside the scope of company policy he/she may "hand you" a judgment. Employers will "circle the wagons" and "hang out to dry" supervisors and managers acting independently.

Those are some the employment termination options available to employees. In the 11th installment we will look at "After Leaving Employment Now What?".

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