Fire employee without getting sued

[gtetlow]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA
I want to fire a W2 employee who has worked for me for 6 months, she has done basic tasks but shows no initiative and has also made ongoing errors (I am a doctor). I was thinking I would not be firing her **for cause** and that she would be eligible for unemployment. I do not want to have her near patients/in the office after I fire her.
*Do I need to give her a reason for being fired?
*What offenses would cause me to fire her "for cause"?
*What are the key items to avoid saying so I don't get sued?
*Do I need to give her 2 weeks notice? If I do, do I need to pay her even though she is not working (I do not want her in the office after her termination date).
*Do I need to pay her for accrued vacation time? She has worked 3 months at 3 days a week and 3 months at 4 days a week. I offer 2 weeks vacation in the first year so if I need to pay accrued vacation time should I pay her for 3.5 days (she's worked 1/4 year at 3 days/week = 1.5 vacation days; worked 1/4 year at 4 days/week = 2 days).
**Should I pay her 2 weeks PLUS accrued vacation time?
Thank you for your help.

 

[Zigner]

Simply tell her that her services are no longer needed. You don't need to give her two weeks notice. I would recommend paying accrued vacation, whether required or not.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA
I want to fire a W2 employee who has worked for me for 6 months, she has done basic tasks but shows no initiative and has also made ongoing errors (I am a doctor). I was thinking I would not be firing her **for cause** and that she would be eligible for unemployment. I do not want to have her near patients/in the office after I fire her.
*Do I need to give her a reason for being fired?
*What offenses would cause me to fire her "for cause"?
*What are the key items to avoid saying so I don't get sued?
*Do I need to give her 2 weeks notice? If I do, do I need to pay her even though she is not working (I do not want her in the office after her termination date).
*Do I need to pay her for accrued vacation time? She has worked 3 months at 3 days a week and 3 months at 4 days a week. I offer 2 weeks vacation in the first year so if I need to pay accrued vacation time should I pay her for 3.5 days (she's worked 1/4 year at 3 days/week = 1.5 vacation days; worked 1/4 year at 4 days/week = 2 days).
**Should I pay her 2 weeks PLUS accrued vacation time?
Thank you for your help.

You can simply tell her that it is not working out and fire her...and escort her out of the office. You however will not be able to do anything to guarantee that she will not be able to collect unemployment benefits. You have described nothing that would be the kind of gross misconduct that would bar her from collecting UC.

Now, if you want her to leave with minimal fuss and resentment then you certainly could give her a severance package of some sort and not give bad references to future employers of hers.

 

[justalayman]

*Do I need to give her a reason for being fired?

no. It's not working out seems to be the current catch all reason used

*What offenses would cause me to fire her "for cause"?

she attacked patients; she painted your office purple without permission; she stood at the front door and required anybody that wanted to enter rub her on the head... If you have to ask what qualifies as "for cause" I'm guessing she isn't doing anything that would qualify as "for cause"

*What are the key items to avoid saying so I don't get sued?

Hey, your fired but if you spend some time in the back room with me for a quickie I might reconsider.. Seriously, are you actually an employer?. You just tell them things aren't working out. Thank you for your service. Have a nice day. Now leave.

*Do I need to give her 2 weeks notice?

no

If I do, do I need to pay her even though she is not working (I do not want her in the office after her termination date).

you need to pay her for any time she works

*Do I need to pay her for accrued vacation time? She has worked 3 months at 3 days a week and 3 months at 4 days a week. I offer 2 weeks vacation in the first year so if I need to pay accrued vacation time should I pay her for 3.5 days (she's worked 1/4 year at 3 days/week = 1.5 vacation days; worked 1/4 year at 4 days/week = 2 days).

I'll leave that for others with more knowledge on this subject than myself.

**Should I pay her 2 weeks PLUS accrued vacation time?

why not give her a couple years pay. Seriously, have you ever had an employee before? You can give her as much money as you want to give her.

 

[xylene]

Your hesitance suggests that this person has the hallmarks of a potential problem?

Pay her two weeks plus accrued vacation.

I realize that seems like a bunch for nothing but in perspective it is nothing.

Get back to what you are good at - being a doctor.

 

[commentator]

I suggest you hire yourself a good office manager/practice manager. And that should NOT be your wife or your girlfriend, or your boyfriend or your husband unless he/she has made a living doing this sort of work before.

You appear to be woefully uninformed on the way to operate a practice. And though you may be a good doctor, one of the biggest mistakes you can ever make in your professional life is to assume that you can just hire a couple of office staffers and that part of the business will all work out.

Do what everyone has suggested. Tell her (and the unemployment system) that you no longer need her. That's all you need to say. Give her a "confirmation that she worked there" reference and don't say any more, either way. You are not obligated to give anyone a reference of any kind.

When this problem employee draws unemployment, which she very likely will get to do if she turns out to be monetarily eligible, you will be surprised to find that this will cause your experience rating and therefore your unemployment tax rates to be raised by the state. While there is no recourse in this situation, you need to be very sure in the future that you have policies and procedures in place to deal with the sort of issues you describe and you need someone to oversee your office who is knowledgeable in human resources issues. When you get a "problem hire" on board, the very smartest thing you can do is get rid of them immediately and decisively. The longer they stay, the more they will cost you in unemployment benefits.

When I collected unemployment taxes from employers, we had by far and away the most trouble from professional offices where people were always not working out for many reasons, were filing for and being approved for unemployment benefits and the employer ( a dentist, attorney, veterinarian, therapist, physician) was then having spasms because the person had gotten approved to draw. It would usually turn out that they had hired a family member to manage the office. A good office manager would know how to set up and operate a business so that employees that did not work out were let go constructively and did not always get to draw benefits and work issues with employees were dealt with before they became extreme.

There are no laws that will prohibit your former employee from suing you, but there are no laws that have been broken simply because you have discharged her. It is doubtful that your former employee will not find anyone willing to take her case if she doesn't have one. As it was pointed out, valid lawsuits would be predicated by something genuinely unacceptable on your part. Check on "at will" employment.

 

[cbg]

Do I need to give her a reason for being fired? No.

What offenses would cause me to fire her "for cause"? Forget it. You don't need to have cause to fire her, and from what you've posted she hasn't done anything that will cause unemployment benefits to be denied.

What are the key items to avoid saying so I don't get sued? Keep it simple. "Sally, your services are no longer required. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

Do I need to give her 2 weeks notice? If I do, do I need to pay her even though she is not working (I do not want her in the office after her termination date).I Good lord, no. You don't have to have her in the office one MINUTE after being fired, and you shouldn't. If I had more time I'd tell you a few horror stories about what happened to employers who gave their fired employees fifteen minutes to collect their personal belongings. She's out the door.

Do I need to pay her for accrued vacation time? She has worked 3 months at 3 days a week and 3 months at 4 days a week. I offer 2 weeks vacation in the first year so if I need to pay accrued vacation time should I pay her for 3.5 days (she's worked 1/4 year at 3 days/week = 1.5 vacation days; worked 1/4 year at 4 days/week = 2 days). In your state, you do not need to pay her any accrued vacation time unless you have a written policy that says you will.

Should I pay her 2 weeks PLUS accrued vacation time? The law does not require that you pay her a single dime beyond her pay for the last day she works, and her accrued vacation IF you have a written policy promising to pay it out. Whether you choose to offer her severance is your decision.