Correct handling of employee discipline, terminations, and layoffs is crucial, especially in a down economy. It is the responsibility of human resources professionals to ensure their organizations follow excellent disciplinary practices and properly conduct terminations and layoffs during these turbulent economic times. Few supervisors enjoy managing discipline and discharge issues. An “undeserved” separation from employment due to, for example, a downturn in the economy, can be especially difficult. Now more than ever, HR must take the lead in workforce management, including, when necessary, conducting layoffs or terminations of employees in a systematic, logical, and effective manner.



WHAT CHALLENGES DO ORGANIZATIONS FACE IN MANAGING THEIR WORKFORCE IN A DOWN ECONOMY?

One of the most difficult tasks many organizations face in arecession is making decisions regarding terminations and layoffs. In times of a down economy or recession, employers often have to juggle:
• Differentiating between terminations and layoffs;
• Protecting the organization from legal liability;
• Handling layoff meetings;
• Allaying fears of remaining employees;
• Keeping top employees from going elsewhere; and
• Re-motivating remaining employees after layoffs.

All these considerations must be taken into account while the pressures of budget cuts, diminishing revenues, and customer retention are at an all time high.

HOW SHOULD AN ORGANIZATION DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN TERMINATIONS AND LAYOFFS?

During a recession, the words “termination” and “layoff” are an all-too-familiar part of our vernacular. However, terminations and layoffs are very distinct types of separation from employment and must be handled differently. Terminations are dismissals from employment for cause, or for violation of organizational standards, policies, and procedures. Progressive discipline steps should be taken with regard to all terminations, especially in recessionary times.

Many organizations seize on recessionary times as an opportunity to eliminate a problem employee’s job as a “softer” way to terminate the worker. However, eliminating an employee’s job position to solve performance problems can actually result in liability to the organization. The employee (and his or her attorney) might be able to show that the position was not actually eliminated but was filled by another employee. An attorney might be able to prove in court that the “elimination of position” was just a sham and that discriminatory reasons were actually the cause of the termination.

Layoffs are separations from employment due to lack of work, departmental restructuring, downsizing divisions, changes in lines of product or business, etc. Layoffs are not “for cause” and often affect groups of employees rather than individual employees.

Many employers make the mistake of using a layoff as an excuse to terminate an employee who should actually be dismissed for cause. Dismissing someone by using an inaccurate reason is an invitation to a lawsuit.

Confronting a layoff situation can be managed effectively by employers if they have already identified their top performers and their most reliable workers. If possible, organizations should avoid laying off these two groups of people. Since layoffs inevitably put more stress on remaining employees, retaining dependable, productive people who can take on more responsibilities is critical to managing through turbulent times.

Another element of workforce reductions where HR has a critical role is communication. Simply stated, management should communicate as openly as possible. Not only does truthful, consistent communication ease the stress for departing employees and for their supervisors, but also it builds trust with the remaining employees. Employees who see their coworkers caught by surprise or treated in ways that seem unfair will leave the organization as soon as the economy makes that possible. If employers do not retain these top employees, the organization will suffer just as the economy is picking up.



About Lynn Lieber: Lynn is a seasoned employment law attorney and a nationally recognized spokeswoman on harassment and discrimination law. She is also founder and CEO of Workplace Answers -- a San Francisco-based provider of Web-based legal compliance education.

Her areas of expertise include:

· Employment law, changes in laws, and how changes affect businesses
· Unlawful harassment prevention
· Protected categories under Title VII, the Civil Rights Act of 1964
· Sexual harassment prevention
· California’s AB 1825 legislation
· Workplace violence prevention
· Workforce management
· Sarbanes-Oxley/Ethics
· Workplace diversity and related business strategies
· Employment leave laws
· HR policy acceptance
· Legal compliance education