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Not Just Another White Guy
Employment Law Group Update | 2/22/2008
Posted by: Meghan Clark
At this stage in the game, most California employers are aware of potential wrongful termination claims from race or sex based discrimination. However, an employer’s pre-termination checklist should go beyond race and sex. As recently described, "he’s just a white guy, I am ok to fire him, right?" Do not assume you are in the clear because an employee is a Caucasian male.
Make sure your pre-termination checklist considers issues beyond race and sex. Has the employee filed a workers compensation claim lately? Even a small one? Does the employee have a medical condition? Has the employee recently taken a leave of absence? Has the employee complained about practices in the workplace that might make this termination look like actionable retaliation? These are just a few examples of the potential red flags that may exist in every termination.
Whether you are HR, a supervisor or the owner of the business, make sure that you have a complete picture of an employee’s history before making the termination decision; and better yet, each should run the decision by their employment law counsel to ensure that even a seemingly garden-variety termination remains just that.