Your Ex-Employee’s Case Is an Investment Decision for Plaintiff’s Attorney

To avoid lawsuits, think like a plaintiffs’ attorney, says attorney Dan M. Forman. When the law firm evaluates your employee’s case, it is making an “investment decision.” Your objective is to discourage their interest.

Forman is a partner at the Los Angeles office of Carothers, DiSante & Freudenberger . His remarks came at BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium going on this week in Las Vegas.

Plaintiffs’ lawyers typically spend a lot of time vetting before undertaking representation of your employee. You’d like their conclusion to be: This case is a poor investment.

Exit Letter

Terminated employees often don’t have a good understanding of why they were fired, says Forman. And that leads them to conclude that an illegal reason was the basis for the action. You can help with an exit letter. This document:

• Explains the reason for the termination
• Uses cold, hard facts (no show, no call; tardy X times in X days; position eliminated)
• Offers specific details
• Quotes policy violated
• Describes impact on coworkers and productivity

Give the employee a chance to comment or dispute, Forman says, and ask the employee to sign the document, or to indicate that he or she refused to sign.

If you can do this, Forman says, you will have set up your defense against a lawsuit. Your ex-employee’s attorney won’t see much potential for a successful suit.