And, you should dismiss the offending employee. Be sure to address specific incidence, their dates and the consequences for the firm. For example, if a jobholder punches you in the face, you might assume this is a clear case of gross misconduct. Document the business rationale for the firing. As you may know, an employee can only get unemployment when you fired him for poor productivity or economic reasons. Frankly, the owner or manager just screws up. For example, you can separate someone for being a Dallas Cowboys fan - clearly a stupid reason unless, of course, you live in Washington DC:). For example, you don't want to say in a department meeting, "We are looking to get some new blood in here." Then, a week later, you dismiss a poor performing 56-year old worker. Contact your employment legal defender for more details and an explanation on how these legal duties affect your specific business. And, you must be careful if you cut her job before the one year moratorium as well. It involves gaining proper documentation and having discussions with the employee about her or his terrible performance.

Expect to settle for a big sum or to pay a big jury award. For example, the employer should not claim "downsizing" when he or she plans immediately to hire another employee to perform the same job. It also might stipulate the employee can't use the information he or she has picked up about your company to help your competition. If you are an Personnel supervisor, this may be as easy as contacting a higher authority, such as a Vice President or President of the business.