Quote:
Originally Posted by Daseal
Schneed
I think it depends on the size of the business. My company takes forever to force losers out. They have to go through lengthy and well documented processes. Typically they have to be put on a PIP (Performance Improvement Plan) and given a chance to get better, etc.
Employees can bring suits, but the burden is on them to prove that they were discriminated against.
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I am guessing you are partially right in that it depends on the size of the business. It is likely the restrictions you cite are more about protection from lawsuits and costly settlements than something imposed by law.
Without such procedures, large companies open themselves up to discrimination claims in a way smaller companies do not.
For example, if you have a company of 500 hundred employees with 10 people who have the discretion to fire people, the inevitiable inconsistencies between those 10 in exercising that discretion likely create questions of fact as to the underlying basis for firing specific employees - remember, each of the 10 is "the company" for termination. Those questions of fact make surviving a Motion to Dismiss difficult and would open the company up to lengthy and invasive discovery of its hiring and firing records and, in such cases, settlement may be viewed as a better option than spending the resources to fight an ultimately frivolous claim. The best protection against this is to have procedures in place, limit and codify the discretion allowed to make the process as uniform as possible which, in turn, provides a basis for quick and easy dismissal of frivolous suits. Thus, the larger the company, the more likely you are to have self-imposed procedures as a way to protect itself.
On the other hand, Joe Schmoe with 10 employees who does his own hiring and firing, doesn't have the concern that his practices are inconsistent (unless, of course, he is illegally discriminating). As such, while the occasional lawsuit may occur, it would be less likely to have the questions of fact generated by multiple decision-makers and, therefore, be more likely to an early dismissal. For smaller businesses where one or two people are in charge of hiring and firing, I would even recommend against anything but the most perfunctory of policies b/c all it they would do is create ways for you to screw-up procedurally and open yourself up to suit.