The Legal Column: Firing with Courtesy, More Than Being Nice

Do you have a specific procedure for terminating employees? Do you conduct exit interviews? Do you conduct fair and objective investigations into the events leading up to termination? Do you ensure that your employees know the rules and the penalties for breaking them? These are just a few questions that a construction industry employer should ask before discharging an employee — less politely known as firing. When it comes to avoiding employment-related litigation, the most dangerous time for an employer is just before and after terminating an employee. It is then that the risk of incurring liability for punitive damages is highest. For instance, in Rawson v. Sears Roebuck and Co., a jury awarded a former Sears employee $19 million