Are you in expert in preventing losses resulting from a hostile workplace termination?

If effectively managing a hostile workplace termination is not your area of expertise, kindly take the next 60 seconds and read the few paragraphs that follow. The names have been changed to protect the identity of the people involved. However, the narrative that you are about to read actually occurred. 

Narrative #1:

Lori and Toni were two of their company's best human resource managers. Both had been with the company for more than 10 years and were senior members of management. During their tenure, neither of them had encountered anyone like Jay P. During his employment, Jay P. had managed to upset or alienate just about anyone he contacted. Whether they were a customer or coworker was of no consequence to Jay. 

Had Jay received counseling about his behavior? Yes. Had Jay been warned that if he did not change his tune he could be terminated? You bet. Did that matter to Jay? Not a bit. In fact, Jay eventually disregarded a direct request by his supervisor. And, the cherry on top: Jay responded by threatening his supervisor directly with bodily harm. Of course, this action was the proverbial last straw for Jay’s supervisor.

As a result, Lori and Toni were charged with terminating Jay’s employment. Both of them had expressed concern for their safety because of Jay’s track record. The other members of senior management concurred with Lori and Toni. As a result, the local police department was notified. Because of the company’s close relationship with local law enforcement, two uniformed officers were assigned to be present at the place of employment on the day that Jay would be terminated. Both Lori and Toni were assured by the two police officers on the scene that, should their assistance be required, they could be available on a moment’s notice. The two police officers parked their squad car and stationed themselves outside the main entrance to the building as a deterrent.

Lori and Toni subsequently conducted Jay P.’s termination meeting in the first floor conference room. While the meeting started out relatively quietly, it quickly escalated once Jay P. was told that he was being terminated. Points were argued back and forth. Jay P.’s frustration level increased. Ultimately Jay P. saw that he was going to lose this argument. He then asked to take a break so that he could go to the men’s room and regain his composure.

Lori and Toni agreed to a 10 minute break. After all, the request appeared to be reasonable, right? And understandably, both Lori and Toni were relieved to have a few minute respite away from Jay P.

During the break, Jay P. went to the bathroom. When he was finished in the men’s room, he stopped by his office. He then returned to the conference room. He gave Lori and Toni one more opportunity to reconsider his termination. They refused. Jay took out a 9 mm pistol and ended their lives...with two uniformed police officers no more than 50' away.

Questions to ponder:

Was this situation 100% preventable? Absolutely.

Was this situation 100% preventable? Yes.  That is not an accidental duplication.  This situation absolutely could have been prevented had it been handled by experts.

Was the situation preventable because hindsight is 2020? No. When you receive expert consultation and put a plan into action based on that counsel, situations like this one never need to happen.

In this case, were there numerous warning signs indicating that violence would result from a hostile workplace termination?termination? Absolutely. There were at least a dozen glaring behaviors indicating a very high probability of violence.

Did the surviving family of Lori and Toni initiate a lawsuit against the company for negligence? Most definitely.

Since this situation could clearly have been prevented, is the company’s insurance going to indemnify them against this litigation? Absolutely not. Negligence is not covered by general liability policies. The company will be paying seven figures out-of-pocket.

Since the plaintiff will argue that the decision maker's behavior in this situations was reckless, could criminal charges be brought against those policy makers? Most probably.

If the people who orchestrated and authored the hostile workplace termination policy - or lack thereof - are found to be negligent and/or reckless, will they be able to discharge those monetary damages in bankruptcy? No. They will be paying out of their pocket for the rest of their natural born lives.

Is it law enforcement's job or duty to protect you? No.  They are their to enforce the law.  Unless a law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that you have already committed a crime, are committing a crime or are about to commit a crime, they can take no action.  The police cruiser and two officers outside offered zero protection.  Let me say that again.  The police cruiser and the two armed police officers outside the building offered ZERO protection.  And, as a result of the company's negligence, Lori and Toni were deprived of their lives. 

Is violence in a hostile workplace termination an uncommon occurrence? No.  In fact, one of the leading causes of workplace fatalities in the United States of America is cold blooded, first degree murder, committed by a pissed off employee. No joke.  Perhaps you are old enough to remember back to the 1970s when stalking laws were finally enacted.  Why? Because employees and significant others were literally being hunted and executed by their psycho workmates and ex-boyfriends/girlfriends for some imagined slight. 

What is the bottom line?

1.  Put a plan in place to deal directly with a hostile workplace termination.

2.  Spell out this plan in black and white. 

3.  Retain expert consultation by people who know precisely how to deal with and eliminate losses that can easily occur during a hostile workplace termination.

4.  Don't wait.  Do it now. 

Our firm specializes in making certain that any employee who needs to be terminated leaves your property without disrupting you, your patrons or your business.  Period.  In fact, our experts actually allow the person to leave with their dignity.  Why is that important? So they don't come back at a later date and end someone's life.  There is no statue of limitations on an imagined slight.

Without expert representation, you are literally rolling the dice with people’s lives…including your own. And, everyone knows that if you bet against the house - in the long term - you will always lose.

Do the right thing by you, your fellow employees and your company. Give us a call and schedule an assessment right now by clicking on the button below.

We can communicate with you by phone, live video remote or an old fashioned face to face meeting at your location.

Lives are literally dependent on it.