Before starting a full-blown probe, you must talk to the jobholder about what happened. Ideally, you must contact a lawyer to assist you create the agreement. This means the boss can separate or lay off the worker whenever they want. In the past, I've had a supplier call me within an hour after dismissing a worker. Sometimes, family crisis or other personal problems can cause a worker to lash out at their supervisors.

However, always consider this type of reprimand as a tool for improvement first rather than a means of ridding your small company of a problem worker. If you feel the worker was genuinely hardworking and honest, you must offer to write a notification of recommendation or act as a reference for future employers in the job search. As is often the case, if you feel that they worker is not sincere, then it's time to start the termination process. Keep in mind the entire layoff notice should remain objective. Don't make this verbal warning threatening. By having copies of the termination notifications, it will be one less worry when having to terminate a worker. Employment disobedience is not when a jobholder is unproductive, fails to follow minor guidelines, or breaks minor rules. In Montana, the law requires any separation to be "for good cause." But as you learned in the last chapter, federal and state governments and judges have created over 30 laws preventing employers from dimissing for wrongful reasons. If you search the Internet, you'll find a few sample employee separation notifications. Before you separate anyone, you should determine the chance the jobholder will sue you.