The Law at Work: Shifting Reasons for Dismissing Employees Can Cause Employer Legal Headaches
In his The Law at Work column in The San Diego Union-Tribune, SCMV Shareholder Dan Eaton says that in order to avoid a self-inflicted legal wound, an employer’s initial and subsequent explanation for a termination decision should be honest, consistent, and well-framed. Employers who provide shifting explanations for an at-will employee’s termination cause themselves avoidable legal problems by giving the dismissed employee ammunition to claim that the decision was unlawfully motivated. One federal appeals court has written that an employer’s multiple, implausible explanations for terminating an employee may justify a judge or jury’s finding that “the employer is hiding something” or is otherwise illegal. Click here to read the full article.