A dismissing reason can be legitimate, illegal or just plain stupid. Personnel who are pregnant and about to deliver a child or workers who need medical treatment and cannot return to work fall under the legal protection of FMLA. If you lay them off on the account of a firm restructuring, they will leave on better terms than if you separate them for violating business policy. By setting up a standard procedure, you reduce your chances of having a jobholder file a wrongful layoff lawsuit. Also, to keep the worker's anger as low as possible, keep the tone of this letter as polite as possible while still giving a truthful separation reason.

First, the worker must prove your statements were untrue. If you are dealing with a troubled (or troublemaking) worker, this can be a blessing because without having to deal with problem employees can be wearing, both to the workplace and the employer. Besides lowering your legal risk, the sacked employee's viewpoint will be the most honest you'll hear. He made me angry is not a good reason, but "I could not trust him to complete projects on time" is. If you fail to do this, we will deduct the appropriate amount from your final paycheck. Knowing that your personnel are at-will workforce doesn't protect you from battling through a suit or other attempt by a disgruntled individual to get their job back or receive monetary compensation. If you want to lower the termination risk and cost, I encourage you to study these chapters. Employers don't know their rights, and many don't know what to tell a laid off employee when he asks about unemployment. But knowing how to terminate someone properly is important to the future success of the business. The next week you shockingly discover your former worker has filed a wrongful employee dismissal suit.