How to Fire an Employee Without Risking Your Life

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

How to Fire an Employee… Without Risking Your Life

February 19, 2015

Lerch, Early & Brewer, Chtd.

www.lerchearly.com

© Lerch, Early & Brewer, Chtd. 2014 www.lerchearly.com

Rick Vernon Lerch, Early & Brewer

2


■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

In the News

3


■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Speakers

Rick Vernon is an employment and litigation attorney at Lerch, Early & Brewer who defends employers against all workplace claims made by individuals (applicants, employees and former employees), governmental agencies or other organizations. These encompass discrimination allegations, wage and hour disputes, EEOC complaints and sexual harassment claims, among others.

4

(301) 907-2818 rgvernon@ lerchearly.com


Julie Reddig Lerch, Early & Brewer

5

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

How to Prepare for a Termination Legally and Safely

February 19, 2015

Julie A. Reddig Lerch, Early & Brewer, Chtd.

www.lerchearly.com

Presented to sponsoring organization


Define workplace violence Discuss the legal risks of workplace

violence Identify practical steps to reduce the

risk or impact of workplace violence arising out of a termination

Why are we meeting today?

7


■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

What is Workplace Violence?

Verbal or written threats of physical injury Threatening body language Physical assaults Aggravated assaults, including rape and homicide

8


■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

What is Workplace Violence?

The four types of perpetrators: A stranger A customer or client of the employer or

parties related to a customer or client A current or former employee Someone who has a personal

relationship with an employee

9


■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Legal Risks of Workplace Violence

10


■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■


OSHA Guidelines and Recommendations: www.osha.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence/index.html

11

The OSH Act: Duty to provide a safe workplace


■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

OSHA must prove: The employer failed to keep the workplace

free from a hazard employees were exposed to

The hazard is recognized The hazard was likely to cause death or

serious physical harm There was a feasible and economically viable

way to correct the hazard

12



■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

13

Require management commitment and employee involvement

Implement a worksite analysis of security Create hazard prevention and control Provide safety and health training for

employees and management Evaluate the violence prevention program

OSHA’s workplace violence prevention recommendations:



■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

14

Allocate sufficient resources to prevent violence Develop a system of accountability for

implementing a violence prevention program Establish a zero-tolerance policy for workplace

violence

OSHA’s workplace violence prevention recommendations cont’d.:



■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Common law duty to provide a safe workplace for employees

Premises liability to employees and third parties for failure to use reasonable care to make property safe

15

Tort Liability:



■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Negligent hiring Negligent supervision or retention Misrepresentation for providing an inaccurate

reference

16

Examples of Tort Claims:



■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Potential ADA liability for refusing to hire an applicant or terminating an employee due to a history of violence associated with mental disability

17



■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Liability for providing inaccurate reference

18



■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

19


Hostile work environment claims


■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Steps to avoid OSHA and Tort Claims:

20

Draft a workplace violence policy Train employees on reporting threats Train managers to reduce risks of violence Promptly investigate workplace violence

complaints and discipline/terminate if the claim is substantiated

Draft and maintain a workplace safety plan and implement any precautions



■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Steps to avoid OSHA and Tort Claims cont’d:

21

Perform effective and legal background checks

Evaluate the need for screening vendors Invite local police or security personnel to

your facility Limit access of former employees and

visitors



■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Termination Tactics

22


■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Pre-termination considerations: The Fundamental 5&5 Whether you need the employee to

transition work Protecting company property Have security present Determine in advance what you

are going to say

23

Termination Tactics


■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Offer resignation? Prepare a script: Give a general reason for the termination Make clear this is the employee’s last day Explain severance, payment of vacation and

continuation of benefits Outline next steps

24

What are you going to say?

Termination Tactics


■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Terminate in a dignified manner Tell the employee in private Have two representatives in the room Stick to the script Use a slow pace and compassionate tone Request return of company property Walk the employee out

25

Termination Tactics

During the termination meeting:


■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Have HR check in with the terminated employee

26

Termination Tactics

The day after the termination:


■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Speaker

Julie Reddig is an employment attorney at Lerch, Early & Brewer who counsels and defends management in a broad range of matters and disputes involving employment and the workplace, including wage and hour investigations by state and federal officials, discrimination, harassment, and overtime claims made by current and former employees.

27

(301) 961-6099 jareddig@ lerchearly.com


Dr. Jeffrey Jay Psychologist

28


■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Speaker

Jeffrey Jay, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist in the District of Columbia. He received a B.A. from Amherst College in 1972, and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Duke University in 1977. In his private practice, Dr. Jay specializes in the treatment of depression and anxiety with adults and students. In addition, he works with adults who seek to establish and maintain secure and intimate relationships.

29

[email protected]


John Sexton Sexton Executive Security

30

Workplace Violence For the

Personal Protection Specialist

John Sexton

Objectives

• To Define workplace violence • To define the need proactively for personal protection in

the event of violence in the workplace • Illustrate the role of executive protection to mitigate

workplace violence

What is Workplace Violence

• According to the Center for Disease Control

– Violent acts, including physical assault and threats of assault directed to persons at work or on duty

Workplace Violence Expanded

– Acts of aggression or violence including assaults, threats, disruptive, aggressive, hostile, verbal or emotionally abusive behaviors that generate fear that occur in, or are related to the workplace and entail a real or perceived risk of physical, emotional and/or psychological harm to individuals, or damages to an organization’s resources or capabilities .

What is the impact of WPV?

• According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics

– 500,000 victims of violent crime per year

– 1.8 million workdays lost per year

– $55 million impact as a result of lost productivity and increased

health care


• 6 – 18 weeks after an incident

– 50% decrease in productivity

– 20% to 40% increase in turnover


• The average out of court settlement for negligence litigation is approximately $500,000

• The average jury award is $3 million

• Researches for National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) estimate average cost of workplace homicide is ?

What is the impact on WPV?

• $100,000

• $250,000

• $500,000

• $750,000

•$800,000!!!

Behavioral Indicators

13 Behavioral Indicators

1. Threats 2. Unreasonable; Person constantly makes slighting references to others. 3. Intimidation and Control Oriented; Person feels a need to constantly force their opinion on others 4. Paranoid; Person thinks other employees are out to get them. 5. Irresponsible; Person doesn’t take responsibility for any of their behaviors or faults or mistakes, it's always someone else's fault. 6. Angry, Argumentative & Confrontive; hate and anger issues on the job or

with coworkers, 7. Violence Fascination and Acceptance; applauds certain violent acts in

media, previous trouble with the law, fascinated with killing power and destructive effect of weapons.

13 Behavioral Indicators

8. Vindictive; Person makes statements like "he will get his" or "what comes around goes around" or "one of these days I'll have my say". 9. Bizarre Behavior: Person is quirky, strange; considered weird 10.Desperation: Person expresses extreme desperation over recent family, financial or personal problems. 11.Obsessions: Person has obsessive involvement with the job, particularly when no apparent outside interests exist. He has a romantic obsession with co-worker who has no interest in him. 12.Substance Abuse 13.Depression: Person displays chronic signs of depression, loss of interest and confident in life or work

Interesting Fact

• A study conducted by the Society of Human Resource Management show that more than half of the companies in the US have experienced some type of workplace violence, with verbal threats being cited in 41% of cases.

Profiles of Violent Employees

Characteristics of a violent worker • White male, 25 to 50 years old • Demonstrates low self esteem • Is considered a loner • Fascination of weapons


• Worker who may commit nonlethal violence

– Under age of 30

– History of some violence

– Abuses drugs or alcohol


A worker who may commit LETHAL violence Over the age of 30 Indicates no history of violence or substance abuse Shows indications of paranoia or delusions and is

unable to appropriately release frustration

Why EP for Workplace Violence?

• 1998 US Supreme Court (Faragher v. City of Boca Raton) determined that companies must prevent, not react to hostile work environments.

• EP would then have to be implemented early in the process to effectively mitigate risk in workplace violence.

EP for Workplace Violence

• To mitigate the risk you must

– Assess your risk

– Assess your vulnerability – Assess the impact

Assess Risk

• Violence by Stranger – Robbery is generally the motive

• Violence by current or former employee

• Violence by a relative, spouse or ex-spouse, or individual with relationship with an employee

• Violence by customer, client or contractor

Assess Vulnerability

• Devastating – Facility is damaged or contaminated beyond habitable use.

Most items/physical assets are lost, destroyed, or damaged beyond repair/restoration. Multiple deaths have occurred. The number of visitors to other facilities in the organization may be reduced by up to 75% for a limited period of time.


• Severe – The facility is partially damaged/contaminated. Examples include

partial structure breach as a result of weather/water, smoke, fire, or impact damage to some areas. Some items/ physical assets in the facility are damaged beyond repair, but the facility remains mostly intact. The entire facility may be closed for a period of up to two weeks and a portion of the facility may be closed for an extended period of time (more than one month). One or more deaths occur or a serious number of non-fatal injuries (these are injuries that would meet the OSHA reportable event standard). The number of visitors to the facility and others in the organization may be reduced by up to 50% for a limited period of time.


• Noticeable: – The facility is temporarily closed or unable to operate, but can

continue without an interruption of more than one day. Note that the decision to close the facility is based on employee relations, community, public relations and/or political factors as oppose the unavailability of the facility. A limited number of assets may be damaged, but the majority of the facility is not affected. Some number of injuries may occur, but not a significant number of them are serious enough to warrant reporting to OSHA. The number of visitors to the facility and others in the organization may be reduced by up to 25% for a limited period of time.


• Minor – The facility experiences no significant impact on

operations (downtime is less than four hours) and there is no loss of major assets. There are no reportable injuries.

Impact to Business

• Lost productivity from employees

• Possible legal fees – jury awards – Settlements

• Loss of personnel or other assets

• Negative publicity

How to Mitigate Risk for WPV

• Surveillance on suspect • Securing corporate assets

– Access control – Identification badges – Laptop computers

• Acting as a witness in meetings with suspect • Escorting suspect off of property • Escorting corporate executives on job/at home • Conducting security surveys • Liaise with local law enforcement

Risk Management vs.

Threat Management

• Questions?


■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Speaker

John Sexton is president of Sexton Executive Security, Inc., a private security consulting firm that provides personal protection, private investigations and security consulting services to the business community and individual clients. The company also provides executive protection services to corporations experiencing or about to experience workplace violence due to terminations.

58

president@ sextonsecurity.com


■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

For more information

Lerch, Early & Brewer, Chtd. 3 Bethesda Metro Center, Suite 460

Bethesda, MD 20814 (301) 986-1300

www.lerchearly.com

Thank you for your participation

This content is for your information only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. Please consult your attorney before acting

on any information contained here.

59

How to Fire an Employee Without Risking Your Life

Law

Transcript of How to Fire an Employee Without Risking Your Life