How Do I Fire a Problem Worker?

Ohio is an “employment at-will” state.  That means in Ohio you can generally fire anyone, at any time, with or without a reason.  But there are some situations that are not within the scope of the employment at-will doctrine or that require special handling. 

If you have executed an employment agreement with the employee, and such agreement provides for a specified term of employment, then firing the employee prior to the end of the term would be breach of contract and subject you to damages.  If you have a union workforce and you are firing a union worker, you will need to comply with the firing procedures set forth in the collective bargaining agreement or risk having the union bring labor relations charges against you. 

If the employee you are terminating is over 40, is disabled, is a woman or is a minority, you may find that the terminated employee makes claims of wrongful discharge based on age, disability, race or sex discrimination.  To defeat such claims you need to properly document the "non-prohibitted" reason you are firing the employee.

When terminating an employee, it is best to have a system and to follow the system. You should have regular reviews where the employee’s performance and problems are evaluated and addressed.  If an employee is tardy, or absent, or fails to follow instructions, or is insubordinate, or is simply incompetent, you need to document such matters when they occur.  The employee should be given a “pink slip” and such slips should become part of the employee’s personnel file.  The employee personnel files should be kept under lock and key so employees can’t remove evaluations and reprimands from their file. 

Please call or email if you have any questions about how to terminate a problem employee.  And thanks for emailing the SenneySays link to your friends.    

AND ONE MORE THING.     It is that time of year when we need to be thinking about taxes.  Property taxes are billed in installments.  But you can pay the whole thing all at once.  Doing this will reduce your regular federal income taxes for this year.  But this does not help if you are subject to alternative minimum tax (“AMT”).  If you are subject to AMT, you should instead consider deferring deductible tax payments to next year.  Let me know if you have any questions on year-end tax planning in general or any particular issues.  Jsenney@pselaw.com or 937-223-1130.

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Pickrel, Schaeffer & Ebeling Co., LPA, 2700 Kettering Tower, Dayton OH 45423

www.pselaw.com

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