Wrongful terminations occur when employees lose their jobs for illegal reasons. Businesses generally have the legal authority to fire workers for any lawful reason. However, they cannot fire workers for engaging in protected workplace activities, such as unionizing or reporting safety concerns. They also cannot fire people because of their protected characteristics, such as their age, race or medical condition.
Most businesses want to avoid conflict when terminating workers, especially for questionable reasons. Putting a worker on a performance improvement plan is sometimes a means of hiding the true justification for what is actually a wrongful termination.
Is the timing suspicious?
Employers have the right to acknowledge issues with an employee’s attitude or job performance. They can create performance improvement plans to help workers meet expectations and retain their positions.
In scenarios where an employee has met company metrics and does not believe their performance has changed, they may question the need for a performance improvement plan. In some cases, the goal of a performance improvement plan is not to improve the professional’s job performance but rather to protect the company from wrongful termination allegations.
Performance improvement plans initiated shortly after workers make use of their rights could serve to hide company misconduct. They may actually be a means for the company to terminate that worker regardless of how well they handle the feedback provided by the company.
Employees worried that they may soon face a wrongful termination may need support to understand their options and effectively protect themselves. Working with an employment attorney can help professionals fight back against wrongful terminations, including firings backed by questionable performance improvement plans.