Employee Termination

Our recommended employee termination procedure

To protect employees from unfair treatment, the courts have set up various federal and state laws. While these rights are in place to protect the employee, these laws also help HR managers and business owners conduct terminations properly. This gets rid of unfair treatment from one employee to the next and creates continuity when terminating an employee. By knowing these employee rights in termination, you can protect yourself from future repercussions from an employee once terminated.

Regulations for Employee Rights in Terminations

Keep in mind there are several laws that apply to employee rights in termination. These include the Family and Medical Leave Act, Immigration Reform and Control Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, several Civil Rights Acts, as well as Veterans, Pregnancy, Fair Labor and even Occupational Safety Acts.

If you deal directly with employee firings, then you must know these employee rights in termination. While some of these laws apply to discrimination, others will specify certain ways that you must treat these special groups during a firing. This may include certain medical benefits, severance pay, or even special restrictions that become important when you consider terminating them.

Final Pay Laws

The laws on employee rights for final wages vary from state to state. Therefore you must read up on your state’s policies in this area. Most states require you to pay a former employee immediately or within 30 days of termination. If you fail to do this, the employee has the right to take legal action against you.

Many states say you must date the final paycheck to the termination date. You cannot wait for the next pay period. Whatever the case for your specific state, you should have these laws fresh in your mind. Remember that these employee rights laws also cover back pay, overtime pay and may often include added benefits.

Unemployment Benefits

One of the first questions many former employees ask during the exit interview involves unemployment benefits. The Federal Government regulates these laws, although the states run their own offices. This means there are slight variations in dealing with unemployment from state to state.

Remind employees there are certain limits that can disqualify them from receiving unemployment. The main criterion is the employee must have worked for the company at least one consistent year, most often full-time. Also, it is important the employee was terminated for no fault of their own, so if the employee was terminated because of a disciplinary reason it may keep them from receiving unemployment.

What you must know before terminating any employee