Employment Law Attorney in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Respectful Termination
Respectful Termination
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So, this all comes back to the same deal. Hopefully, you want to be respectful to your employees in a termination meeting because you genuinely established a rapport with folks that you spent time with. But if you can’t be for that reason, be respectful because that helps you not get sued. And so, in the vein of being respectful, if somebody’s crying I think showing genuine empathy is a very important thing. To say, “I know this is really hard. I’m sorry that it got to this point.” You aren’t saying that it’s your fault. You’re saying you’re genuinely saddened that you are where you are, and I think you want to show that.
Minneapolis and St. Cloud employment law attorney Sheila Engelmeier discusses why being respectful to employees is paramount. She emphasized that respectful treatment should remain a priority during termination meetings, ideally because employers have built genuine professional relationships with the employees they have worked with over time. She noted that, even if respect is not motivated by that relationship, employers should still conduct termination meetings respectfully because doing so can help reduce the risk of legal disputes.
She also stressed the importance of demonstrating genuine empathy when an employee becomes emotional during a termination meeting. According to her, acknowledging the employee’s feelings by expressing that the situation is difficult and regrettable does not mean accepting blame for the outcome. Instead, it reflects sincere compassion and recognition that the circumstances are painful for everyone involved, which she believes is an important part of treating employees with dignity and respect.
