Columbus partner Daniel Guttman was quoted in a December 12 Business First Columbus article, "Risk of Employment Litigation Comes to a Crescendo."
According to the article, with the economy in recession, many businesses are cutting back on workers, which can lead to employment litigation. However, labor and employment attorneys are advising clients that a little advance work on the part of employers can prevent a deluge of litigation.
Guttman said when the economy nosedives, employers make across-the-board cuts, or release poorly performing employees. In either situation, an employer can find itself in a vulnerable position.
"As one of the main trigger points for an employment-related lawsuit is a loss of employment, it's only natural to see a rise in employment lawsuits right now,” said Guttman. "I don't think there are more employment related lawsuits yet, but I think we are seeing increased threats of employment lawsuits."
"The biggest threat (for an employer) is that the employee doesn't have other options,” Guttman said. When the economy is doing well, a fired employee who is a part of a protected class, such as a minority, older worker or female, may not pursue what they believe was discrimination because they can readily find another job, Guttman said.
A difficult economic climate, however, changes the calculus. "Our advice is to make sure all documentation is in order and all managers are clear on what happened," Guttman said.
There are many reasons why an employer should try to avoid litigation with a former employee, Guttman said, but perhaps the biggest is the disruptive nature of the process. When a company becomes engaged in litigation with a former employee, current employees familiar with the business and former workers have to be deposed by attorneys, and management has to spend time with lawyers instead of working, Guttman said.