"One way to help to insulate your company from lawsuits is to offer severance payments in exchange for a release of any claims that the employee could bring against the company or its employees" (Blinn 2009). However, a more effective approach than keeping inefficient employees may simply be to have a strong company policy about discrimination. A zero-tolerance policy for harassment, a proactive approach to diversity, and actively recruiting individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds ensures that when layoffs occur, they are less likely to unfairly penalize one group more than another group. To avoid legal complications requires scrupulous record-keeping and clear policies about terminating workers. These policies should be articulated as part of the hiring process. These should be in place before the need for any terminations occur for the employees in question. "Develop reasonable standards of conduct and provide them to your employees in writing…You should also have your employees sign an acknowledgment that they are aware of and have read your company policies and standards of conduct, that they agree to follow the rules you have established, and that failure to follow such rules can lead to discipline up to and including termination" (Employee termination: Things to consider, 2009, Small business notes). If problems do arise, long-term, written records should be kept of the progressive disciplinary procedures: "verbal warning, written warning that job is in jeopardy, and then, if necessary, termination," and all communications should be kept in writing (Employee termination: Things to consider, 2009, Small business notes). It is a good idea to have an exit interview to brief the employee on the reasons for the termination, to minimize potentially bad...

Unionized workforces present particular challenges, given that many unionized companies have contractual obligations that specify what and how employees may be terminated. "If your workforce includes union members working subject to collective bargaining agreements, you need to determine what provisions in those agreements may affect how you select employees to include in a reduction in force. For example, collective bargaining agreements frequently include protection for employees based on seniority" (Blinn 2009). These agreements may reduce some of the flexibility but also some of the angst of deciding which employees to terminate.
Regardless, even after the recession ends, the need to terminate employees in obsolete occupations or who are simply unproductive will not end. The company may deal with ethical challenges such as a worker whose performance has been impeded by illness, a new baby, or the need to take care of a sick child. Once again, weighing compassion with financial considerations is essential -- and the realities of today's litigious environment cannot be forgotten by a responsible organization.

Works Cited

Blinn, Bridget. (2009, February 9). Protective steps to follow when cutting your workforce.

Forth Worth Business Press. Retrieved September 21, 2009 at http://www.fwbusinesspress.com/display.php?id=9483

Employee termination: Things to consider. (2009). Small business notes.

Retrieved September 21, 2009 at http://www.smallbusinessnotes.com/operating/hr/termination/termconsider.html