We advise employers on individual terminations, reductions in force, and facility closings, ensuring compliance with WARN Act requirements and minimizing litigation risk.
Workforce reductions involve significant legal requirements and litigation risk. MC Law's practice helps employers conduct terminations, layoffs, and plant closings in compliance with law while minimizing exposure.
We advise on individual termination decisions. We review termination documentation, assess litigation risk, and advise on compliant separation processes.
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires employers with 100 or more employees to provide 60 days' advance notice of plant closings and mass layoffs affecting specified numbers of employees. Many states have mini-WARN acts with lower thresholds and longer notice periods.
RIF planning should include identifying legitimate business reasons, developing objective selection criteria, performing adverse impact analysis on protected groups, preparing WARN Act compliance, drafting separation agreements with proper releases, and planning communication strategy.
Risks include wrongful discharge claims, discrimination claims if the termination disproportionately affects protected groups, retaliation claims, breach of contract claims, and defamation claims. Thorough documentation and legal review before termination minimize exposure.
Key provisions include the severance payment amount and schedule, a general release of claims, OWBPA-compliant age discrimination waivers for employees over 40, confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses, return of company property, and cooperation obligations.
Use objective, job-related criteria such as skills, performance ratings, and seniority. Apply criteria consistently and conduct statistical adverse impact analysis across protected categories before finalizing selections. Document the selection process and business rationale thoroughly.
Order attorney-drafted documents related to this practice.
An agreement used to formalize the termination of a direct hire employee, including provisions for confidentiality, intellectual property, and severance.
A comprehensive clearance search plus preparation and filing of one federal trademark application.
Clearance, preparation, and filing, plus responses to routine (non-substantive) Office Actions.
Full-service prosecution from filing through registration, including substantive Office Action responses.
A short-form agreement providing a security interest in copyrighted works as collateral for a loan or other financial arrangement.
A notice sent to a service provider under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), requesting the removal of infringing content hosted on their platform.
A simplified agreement used to transfer ownership of a copyright from one party to another, including details such as rights transferred, payment, and effective date.
An agreement where the copyright owner grants a licensee the right to use the copyrighted material under specified terms, including usage scope, duration, and payment.