IS YOUR JOB ON THE LINE?

Employees who assume their jobs are secure are often blind-sighted by their employers who are really planning on terminating them. An October 11, 2023 article in Forbes offers some helpful clues and insights on how to determine if your job is at risk. Although most employees in many states, Pennsylvania included, are “at will” employees, meaning they can be terminated for any reason, except for limited circumstances, the termination process is often unpleasant for the terminating human resources professional or manager.

As it result, termination can result in a shocked, disgruntled, unhappy, and possibly violent employee; may result in charges of discrimination or prejudice being raised by the employee; and may lead to the offering of a severance package, with  a release an employee is asked to sign in order to avoid these charges being filed against the employer.

In order to avoid these consequences, if an employer takes action which encourages an employee to leave on their own, by taking steps to “nudge” them out the door, it can save them considerable funds, attorney’s fees, and aggravation.

FORCING OUT EMPLOYEES

The Forbes article states “quiet bullying is a form of passive-aggressive workplace bullying, in which a company makes an employee’s life so difficult that the employee eventually quits. This can be done by:

  • Giving the employee negative feedback in the form of a lower performance evaluation rating than they deserve or they have received in past years;
  • Placing them on a performance review, referred to as a PIP, which employees rarely survive. I call a PIP a “kiss of death,” because it is generally designed for the purpose of terminating an employee, regardless of what they do, will not survive a PIP;
  • Denying an employee an opportunity for advancement;
  • Assigning an employee meaningless work;
  • Piling more and more work on the employee, and making them work longer hours to meet their work requirements, which often are unrealistic requirements;
  • Changing the terms and financial benefits of employment to make the jobs less attractive to an employee;
  • Creating a hostile work environment or isolating an employee from their colleagues;
  • Bringing on new management who accuses an employee of not being able to perform their job, which is often a job they have held without issue for many years;
  • Offering a buyout or other incentives like ongoing health insurance benefits, to encourage an employee to leave voluntarily, and early retirements;
  • Requiring an employee to return to the office when they prefer to work remotely;
  • Forcing out an employee who develops physical or psychological problems due to the increased stress and anxiety of meeting the unrealistic goals set by an employer.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU FEEL YOU ARE BEING NUDGED OUT.

IF YOU FEEL YOU ARE BEING NUDGED OUT, CONTACT AN ATTORNEY IMMEDIATELY.  Often an employee does not realize what is happening to them, and they keep trying to remedy the situation themselves, which may not always work, as there is often nothing they can do to remedy the situation since the dye has been cast.

At the very least, an employee should:

  • Document what is happening, and do not store this documentation on a computer that is owned by your employer, because they can gain access to this information. If you are asked to suddenly leave, you will no longer have access to the stored information;
  • Keep track of any negative feedback, disciplinary actions, emails or conversations with managers;
  • If you receive a PIP or a disciplinary notice, make certain you have a copy of any discipline or PIP policies mentioned in a handbook, in order to determine if an employer is deviating from its policy;
  • Talk to your boss if you think it will be helpful, to discuss that you feel you are being pressured to leave, and if that is the case, whether your employer will consider a transfer, or offer you a severance package;

A lawyer may be able to assist you in the background by giving you advice and giving you support to endure ongoing mistreatment. You may even want to mention to HR or the employer that you have a lawyer monitoring the situation for you.

FINAL STEPS

If you feel harassed, unappreciated, or discriminated against, contact a lawyer who may have suggestions such as:

  • Negotiating a severance package. If you have already received a severance package, a lawyer should review it and may be able to expand it or change its language. Even if a lawyer is not able to secure additional funds for you, they may be able to negotiate other valuable benefits such as clearing your discipline record, changing the terms of the end of your employment so that you may be entitled to unemployment compensation benefits, ongoing medical insurance, making the terms of the agreement, which usually heavily favors the employer more fair, and a host of other issues.
  • Threatening to file or actually filing a discrimination charge with a government agency.
  • Providing a support system and tips to help you secure other employment.

 For nearly five decades, Faye Riva Cohen has provided personalized, creative, and zealous legal representation to clients in the areas of Employment and Labor Law, Civil Rights and Discrimination, Estate Planning and Litigation, Real Estate, and Family Law. She enjoys a well-earned reputation for successfully litigating multi-faceted, complex cases against large and powerful adversaries, often in David and Goliath situations. Please feel free to contact her at: 215-563-7776 or frc@fayerivacohen.com.