Wrongful Termination: What It Will Cost You (Stat of the Week)
Dismissal isn’t fun for anyone. Certainly, many of us have experienced the pain of being fired or laid off at some point during our careers, but it’s no breezy meeting for the person on the other side of the table, either. If you’ve ever had the misfortune of having to terminate an employee, you’re probably familiar with the stomach-churning feeling that comes before telling someone that they’ve failed to do their job and need to pack up their things.
Wrongful Termination Award Costs
Low
High
Probability Range
$42,113
$361,534
Total Range
$1
$42,700,000
Source: Thomson Reuters, Employment Practice Liability Jury Award Trends & Statistics, 2017
That feeling, it turns out, isn’t too different from the one you’re likely to experience after learning that said individual is suing you for wrongful termination. And in that scenario, it’s not just a difficult conversation hanging over your head, but the potential to lose a whole lot of money.
Wrongful termination lawsuits are also no fun for all parties involved, but that hasn’t stopped people from bringing them against their former employers with greater frequency over the last few years. In fact, by some estimates, the number of wrongful termination suits filed each year has increased by 260% in the past two decades, and such claims are only becoming more common.
Time to stock up on the Pepto-Bismol. Or, better yet, download our Workforce Compliance Guide to Lawsuits and reduce your organization’s exposure today.
