I’m finally dealing with something that I probably should have handled years ago. I’ve got this manager who is just terrible at his job. He’s unprofessional, has bad customer service skills, and our customers are leaving negative reviews because of him. Plus, he’s way too personal with some of his team members, which is just not okay. He’s ignored my direct orders multiple times and even argues with upper management about the rules we have in place. I know I need to fire him, but I don’t want to accidentally break any labor laws here. What’s the best way to handle this? Since New York is an at-will state, do I even need to give a reason for the termination? He’s hourly and doesn’t have a contract.
UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who replied. He walked out yesterday.
I mainly work with unemployment law, not so much with employment law, but here’s my take.
To help lower the risk of him filing an EEOC complaint, you might consider not fighting his unemployment claim. From what you’ve shared, he might be eligible for unemployment since you allowed this behavior to go on for so long. If you describe it as a “bad cultural fit” instead of “misconduct,” it might make things smoother.
Does he lose anything more than just the job if you fire him? Any pension, PTO accrual? Do you gain anything by letting him go besides avoiding the hassle? If he’s likely to retaliate, he could try to file a complaint saying it’s discrimination for age, race, gender, or whatever, valid or not. A small severance package and a release of claims might help. And if you don’t fight his unemployment benefits, that could ease things a bit too.
Is there any other stuff going on here (like medical leave, workers’ comp, investigations)? Any implied contracts? Are there any concerns that this might look like discrimination? How’s your documentation?
@Adair
No HR person here. No medical leave, no workers’ comp, nothing like that. I’m not worried about discrimination claims. Honestly, we didn’t document much. We’ve talked to him about his performance a few times, but none of it was written down.
@Axel
Think about the risk here; how much can you handle? No documentation doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t fire him, but if you think he might make a claim, it can make things harder. A “final written warning” summarizing recent issues and setting a clear expectation (with a termination consequence) could help if needed.
@Adair
What kind of documentation would be helpful? He’s been vengeful before, and I wouldn’t put it past him to try a false claim for unlawful termination.
Axel said: @Adair
What kind of documentation would be helpful? He’s been vengeful before, and I wouldn’t put it past him to try a false claim for unlawful termination.
Is he over 40? If so, age discrimination claims can be easier for him to try.
Even if you don’t hand him any paperwork, it’s good to have notes about incidents and conversations. Scrambling to create documentation months after can be a nightmare.
Axel said: @Adair
What kind of documentation would be helpful? He’s been vengeful before, and I wouldn’t put it past him to try a false claim for unlawful termination.
Think about the harm he’s causing now and compare it to the risk of a claim. If you’re worried about a claim, create a “final written warning” that sums up recent issues, states expectations clearly, and has a deadline. Spell out that termination is next if things don’t improve.
@Adair
One thing to think about; if he takes this to the EEOC or NYDOL, they’re going to ask, “If he’s been such a problem, why wasn’t anything done sooner?”
This is one of the biggest downsides of being a “nice company” that doesn’t address problems early on.