At retail establishments such as Sunflower Pool and Patio, employers must be certain of the legalities surrounding employment termination. After all, if the business is going to end the relationship with a person who has been working there, they will certainly want to have all the facts before proceeding. While these facts will vary from state to state, it’s still important to understand the underlying principles that hold true across most of the United States.
Employment termination laws don’t just apply to a Salina, Kansas establishment. They can help throughout the nation, and they’re essential for managers to understand when working through human resources protocols. Doing so can minimize the chances that an employer will wind up facing a lawsuit for an unfair or illegal termination. That relationship can also be extended to those in Phoenix, Arizona, and elsewhere.
After all, when a dismissal is to be carried out, it must be done with tact and with sensitivity. Most importantly, it must be done fairly, even if under circumstances such as those in the case of employee theft, workplace misconduct, insubordination and other reasons. If not, an employer could legally be seen as discriminating against the terminated employee.
Conversely, if the dismissal takes place in a way that could be construed as difficult or hasty, the former employee may attempt to bring government agencies into the dispute on his or her behalf. This can mean having agencies such as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) or the Department of Labor (DOL) on his or her side, and well-trained lawyers, who will delve into the situation and attempt to negotiate a lucrative settlement for the employee without going to court.
Regardless of whether this ever becomes a concern, issues are more likely to arise when an employer is hasty. For example, one well-known dispute arose when a man was dismissed for taking time off from his job due to a death in the family. Alarmed at losing a prized employee, the owner of a Petersham, Massachusetts company terminated the individual without notice, even though he had indicated that he would leave work early to deal with the needs of an ill family member over the course of several days.
While the owner was legally well within his rights to terminate the individual, his actions were met with the ire of a former employee who believed he did not deserve to be dismissed. In this case, the business owner failed to act in a way that treated his employee with appropriate sensitivity, even if he was not legally required to do so.
That’s what understanding arizona employment termination laws, and their equivalents elsewhere, can do for a business. It helps the employer to assemble a set of policies that are fair to all employees and that are written in such a way that they protect the business from facing a lawsuit.
It’s much better to take the time to sidestep a potentially litigious situation than to become embroiled in one, and learning about laws outside of one’s own region can increase that likelihood. The end result is a happy team of employees who has been treated with fairness; that can go a long way toward making a company successful.
For more information on employment laws, you can visit the U.S. Department of Labor.