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#Written by David Tam, 1997. #
#davidkftam@netscape.net Copyright 1999#
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David Tam
Tuesday, April 8, 1997.
Business Press Review
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MacKillop, Malcolm. "Ten ways to deal with a wrongful dismissal suit",
The Globe and Mail. Tuesday, April 8, 1997. B13.
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This article talks about how to deal with lawsuits that can occur when an
employee is fired. It makes ten suggestions on how to deal with the problem.
Allegations of wrongful dismissal is the usual cause of these suits. As
mentioned in our lectures, it is very hard to defend against wrongful dismissal
cases because the courts usually side with the individual rather than the
corporation. It is mentioned that these suits are expensive and time
consuming, and that it could be harmful to the morale of the company. It may
have effects on the operations of the company if the stakes are very high.
These former employees can make claims about mental distress, punitive damages
or defamation. That is why it is usually necessary to offer severance packages
to these employees with an agreement that the company will not be taken to
court.
One of the suggestions is to try to avoid the court system is possible by
considering mediation, or settlement out of court. This alternative is much
faster and can benefit everyone involved. Business can quickly continue as
normal because of the speed of this method. Another suggestion is that, if the
company decides to defend the case in the courts, it should make suit it has a
strong enough of a case to win against the slightly biased court system. A key
point mentioned in the article, and also by Mr Kathnelson, is that cases should
only be defended on the basis of reasonable notice and not "just cause". Just
cause cases are much harder to prove and are usually much lengthier. The
article points out that if a just cause defence is used but unsuccessfully
argued or abandoned, the court may impose severe costs on the employer.
(
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geocities.com/siliconvalley/campus/9640) (
geocities.com/siliconvalley/campus) (
geocities.com/siliconvalley)