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 firing for unlawful reasons. Include a clear explanation of the policy the jobholder broke, the date it took place, and the rehabilitative action that you took. Employee misbehavior tells the hr personnel or small company owner the worker does not respect them. The first step in firing someone is gathering evidence. Handing over the firm property is a physical sign the termination is a reality. If you're unsure about how to deal appropriately with an disgruntled individual and how to document the problems you are having with this person, you might want to attend a firm workshop or take classes at a nearby college. In addition, you won't worry about a wrongful termination suit blind-siding you and costing you and your business a bundle. For example, the employer may think the jobholder has some insights into the organization's declining esprit de corps and can help you devise a question to get this information. Ideally, having a third party conduct the exit interview or having the employee fill out an exit interview form before they leave would yield more honest and objective comments.

If I fire my difficult individual, I can count on losing a litigation. If you feel that rehabilitation is still possible, the next step you take may be a project or a series of projects that improves your workforce job productivity. And worse yet, by telling the jobholder you disagree with the "higher-ups," he can use your comment to prove illegal lay off. An disgruntled individual is a danger to the company, other personnel and himself. For example, you can't dismiss someone because of her race, religion, sex, age and so on. If you own a business with strict OSHA laws on worker hygiene, you must enforce them with your personnel.