New Jersey law extends temporary disability insurance benefits to provide paid time off for workers to take up to six weeks to care for a newborn, newly adopted child, or sick relative. This makes New Jersey one of a handful of states mandating paid family leave.
white papers | learn how to fire with kindness
"Learn How to Fire With Kindness"
A Parable From the Trenches
by Vanessa Kelly, Esq.
Most employment attorneys representing employees will tell you that the number one reason that employees give for wanting to sue their former employers is the treatment that they received when they were fired. In this case, the old adage “don’t shoot the messenger” does not apply.
Consider the story of Mr. Slocum. He was a sales manager for a number of years at Big Company. He met all his performance objectives, quotas, profitability, budget reduction, and his office was in the top 5 out of 25 offices. Soon after his 65th birthday, a new district manager comes to town and Mr. Slocum and his new district manager, Ms. Quickfoot, do not hit it off. She is a ‘go-getter’ and he is a mild mannered, low pressure salesman.
It was not long before Ms. Quickfoot realized that their styles clashed. But instead of offering Mr. Slocum a gracious way out, such as early retirement or a severance arrangement, Ms. Quickfoot decided to create new measures of success not previously set forth in the job description or performance evaluation process. Now Mr. Slocum must make cold calls, a set number of appointments, and other discrete tasks as if he were a sales associate and not the sales mentor and manager. Mr. Slocum is put on a performance improvement plan incorporating these new measures, even though he earned his quarterly bonus check at the same time. Surprise, surprise. Mr. Slocum does not meet
the "objective" measures set forth in the PIP and is fired.
Mr. Slocum sues for age discrimination.
Could this have been avoided?
Maybe. But consider Mr. Slocum's biggest gripe: "I was never so humiliated or demoralized in my life. 1 never received more so called constructive criticism in three months than over the entire span of my work life."
If your company has made a decision to terminate, please consider the following as part of your due diligence:
- Examine the reasons for the discharge. Has there been an ongoing problem or is this new? -Are you imposing new standards or are these consistent with existing processes?
- Consider who will be the messenger. The best candidates are firm but have compassion and tact.
- Try to communicate the message without destroying self esteem. But don't lie - it always leads to trouble, even the lies said to "soften the blow."
- What is the realistic likelihood that the displaced employee w ill find new employment relatively quickly? Are there personal factors that will make this termination especially sensitive for the employee?
- Can the company offer a severance in exchange for a release of claims and confidentiality? Is the severance meaningful and additional to other benefits already due?