Departing Employees And The Law
Is a business required to give references for every worker who leaves?
No. A business is not required to give references for every worker that leaves. What a business is required to do, is give truthful answers if they are going to give any answers at all.
Is a company legally obligated to pay severance?
A company is probably not legally obligated to pay severance, and in California employers are not required to pay severance, but you do want to check with your particular state to determine whether that state does have a law that requires severance to be payed.
Are all departing employees entitled to unemployment compensation?
No, not all departing employees are entitled to unemployment compensation. It depends upon the circumstances surrounding the departure. If the employee did something such as steal from the employer, then it is most likely that they are not going to be entitled to unemployment. However, this is something that is very state-specific, so you should check with your local attorney to determine the laws of your particular state.
What can be done to protect a company from lawsuits by former employees?
The first thing that you want to do to protect against law suits from former employees is make sure that you are complying with all state and federal laws. Also, once an employee is departing , if you are asking for them to leave their employment, you may want to offer them a severance agreement, and what that would do is offer to pay a certain sum in exchange for a release of any claims that they may have against the company. You do want to check with council to make sure that you are drafting a release in a way that is legally enforceable.
Can I destroy an employee's payroll records once that employee quits or is fired?
No, an employer needs to maintain certain payroll records persuant to federal law, including records such as wages, hours, and deductions made from an employees payroll. They only need to maintain it for a period of three years.
