Every business should want to avoid employee lawsuits. They are expensive, time-consuming, unproductive and emotionally draining, even if the employer eventually wins. And after 35+ years of practicing employment law, if I could only give you one tip to keep a business from getting sued by an employee or more likely, a former employee, this is the tip: Call an employment lawyer BEFORE you take an adverse action against an employee.

I know that sounds like shameless self-promotion. But it is also denying myself the really big bucks. Litigation is a goldmine for lawyers. The average employment case that actually goes to a three- or four-day trial can cost the business $100,000 or more in attorney’s fees, even if the employer wins.

However, calling your employment lawyer before you fire an employee just to see if you could proactively protect your business from a lawsuit might cost you 100 times less. Even at my hourly rate of $400 per hour, for long-term clients whose businesses I know well, I can often spell out the next steps in an email in an hour or less.  

Will that approach make me rich? No. But it does give me the satisfaction of keeping my clients focused on their own productivity and profit rather than distracted by expensive claims of discrimination, wrongful termination, defamation, and any other kind of unfairness that a disgruntled former employee can dream up.

And those of you who call me often know that I will usually pinpoint some or all of the following to be corrected so that your business doesn’t get sued by an employee: