You did it; you finally fired that problem employee. You pat yourself on the back and kick your feet up on your desk. Yet, ominous clouds roll in, and you find your celebration short-lived. The now ex-employee has launched an attack on your office’s sanity—calls, emails, visits, the works! Your employer alarm bells ring loudly. With scenes of workplace violence constantly splashed across the evening news, how is an employer supposed to guard against explosive ex-employees and prevent their business from becoming a statistic?
To preempt some of this behavior, I generally recommend preparing for terminations as much as possible. Start by planning the separation meeting, gathering necessary equipment, and coordinating the disabling of accesses at the time of separation. In the actual separation meeting, candidly, but respectfully, discuss expectations you, as employer, have of an exiting employee. For example, remind the employee of any legal documents they may have signed regarding confidentiality or non-solicitation and outline any communications separating employee may expect from the company. Be direct about what is appropriate moving forward, and do not leave the door open for questions or comments about the reasoning for separation.
If undesired behavior erupts, make sure the employee is safely escorted to their vehicle by building or company security, escalating to local law enforcement if necessary. If the ex-employee begins contacting your workplace seeking vindication, advise current employees (as needed) that the employee has been terminated and is not allowed to interact with clients, vendors, or other employees on work-related matters. Note that employees may maintain personal contacts with the ex-employee, but remind current workers of any confidentiality, inventions, or other provisions that bind them from sharing business information with terminated employees. For best results, reiterate that it is best for current employees not to engage with unruly former employees and that they should instead route any communications from said terminated employee to a designated individual in HR. Additionally, employers may utilize business technologies to block/reroute all of an ex-employee’s known email addresses to a certain contact monitoring their messages; do the same with an ex-employee’s known phone numbers, if possible.
In NC, employers may send offending ex-employees a “no trespassing” notice so that they are disallowed from physically entering the business’s premises. This may be accomplished by sending a letter through certified mail, return receipt requested. There is no particular form that these notices must take except to notify the individual that they are not to trespass at certain locations/addresses and that failure to adhere to said notice can result in civil and/or criminal penalties. NC trespass statutes are codified in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-159.11-14 (first and second-degree trespass) and/or N.C. Gen. Stat. § Chapter 99A (civil trespass remedies).
Overall, an employer’s best bet is to resist the urge to engage a volatile or harassing ex-employee. Gavin de Becker’s The Gift of Fear poignantly notes that engagement with these types of individuals only reinforces the price they must pay for your attention. Sure, it took them ten calls to reach you this time, but next time, they’ll be willing to pay the price of those ten calls and then some. Ex-employees exhibiting this type of behavior readily escalate to heights for which employers are not normally prepared.
As such, carefully plan for the safe exits of any concerning employees. Please contact Soule Employment Law Firm at 984-242-0771 for advice on dealing with difficult employees and/or difficult separations.
Legal Disclaimers: Jenny Sweet is licensed in the state of North Carolina. This article discusses general principles of North Carolina and federal law. It should not be considered legal advice for a particular factual setting and does not create an attorney-client relationship.