Many California employers are surprised to learn that they must give all departing employees notice of their right to seek unemployment benefits—even if it’s a termination for good cause, and even if an employee leaves voluntarily.
Do you know what to say to employees before they leave your company? Find out by joining us on October 30 for the 90-minute webinar: Terminating Employees in California: What You Should (and Should Not) Do When Firing Workers to Avoid Legal Trouble
Under Labor Code Section 1089, all California employers must:
- Post a notice in each work location notifying employees of unemployment and disability insurance rights. This notice can be downloaded from the California Employment Development Division (EDD) here.
- At the time any employee separates from employment, regardless of the reason for the separation, the employer must provide written information regarding benefits available to the unemployed. The information—contained in a 22 page guide prepared by the EDD—can be downloaded here.
An employer’s failure to post and provide these required notices about unemployment benefits is a misdemeanor, and may result in the imposition of civil penalties (imposed either by the state, or through an employee lawsuit).
In addition to notice regarding unemployment benefits, California employers must also give departing employees written notice of:
- Change in the status of the employment relationship (e.g., that the employee is being laid off or terminated, or has resigned);
- Notice regarding COBRA rights and Medi-Cal eligibility requirements; and
- Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act Notice (WARN) if there is a mass layoff of employees (meaning 75 or more employees in a 100 mile radius).
Are You Inviting Lawsuits From Departing Employees?
“You’re fired!” “It’s just not working out.” “We’re going to have to let you go.”
No matter how you say it, terminations—whether they involve a single employee or a large-scale layoff—are probably one of the least favorite parts of your job. Along with the emotional stress they cause, terminations can also pose enormous legal risks. Make one mistake in the firing process, even an innocent one, and your company may quickly itself embroiled in a costly lawsuit.
There are so many different ways to get it wrong:
- You say something to a departing employee in the heat of the moment that is prime lawsuit fodder later on.
- You discover after the firing that the ex-employee’s supervisor has always written glowing performance appraisals for that worker—and the documentation now suggests retaliation.
- You go the extra mile by offering severance payments with waivers to employees being laid off—but a common wording error later renders those waivers unenforceable.
- You make an error calculating a terminated employee’s final paycheck, or you withhold funds from departing workers that you’re not lawfully allowed to deduct.
Join us on Oct. 30 for this in-depth 90-minute webinar, where you’ll learn:
- The most common termination-related mistakes California employers make—and how to avoid repeating them
- Why you must prepare for the possibility of termination even before you hire an employee
- The specific policies and practices you need in place to lawsuit-proof your company before you terminate another employee
- What you should always say—and what you must never say—when letting an employee go
- How to review your severance agreements to make sure they’re binding, and risky language to watch out for
- The crucial post-termination steps you should take to stay out of legal trouble
- What to do when an employee fired for cause later asks you for a job reference
- The unique risks involved in group layoffs, as well as terminations involving older workers
- What you can—and cannot—deduct from a terminated worker’s last paycheck
