FEATURE


you start documenting the employee for all of the things they were doing improperly before they complained, that employee may have a colorable claim for retaliation. Documentation must be consistent across your organi- zation and throughout time.”


Plan Appropriately


While there might be instances when the firing of an employee must be an immediate action, most termina- tions should not be a surprise, Barbe- rio says. “Terminations should almost always be the last step in a bigger review process. First you should warn an employee about their performance, about not meeting standards, and that risk of termination is possible unless changes are made. If the employee does not improve, then maybe it is time to let them go.”


While Medina says there are dif-


ferent views on whether employees should be informed of their termina- tion in the morning or afternoon, it is always a good practice to choose a time when the least amount of peo- ple will be in the office, she says. “You want to limit the embarrassment aspect of termination. Doing it in the middle of the day when everyone is in the office and you force that person to walk down the entire hall with their boxes past everyone they know on the way out may cause a different reaction in a terminated employee than doing it at the beginning of the day or having them stay later.” Medina says she might recommend


having this discussion in the employee’s office, if that is an option. “The reason is, as the manager, you can go in, have the conversation, and you can end the conversation when it needs to end. You avoid having an employee who is sit- ting in your office not wanting to leave. You tend to control the meeting better that way.” Margaret Acker, RN, CASC, chief executive officer of Blake Woods


Terminations should almost always be the last step in a bigger review process.”


— Andy Barberio Fortus Healthcare Resources


employee. Depending on the state, you may have to provide the last pay- check at that time or provide it a cer- tain amount of hours afterward.” It is also important to be prepared to


end the now former employee’s access to patient information. “Make sure that access is cut off at the moment of termination so they cannot walk off with a computer or download any information onto a flash drive. If they have any company computers, hand- held devices, beepers, etc., you want to request all of that at the time of ter- mination. Poor planning in this regard is a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) violation waiting to happen.”


Be Kind


Medical Park Surgery Center in Jack- son, Michigan, says she prefers to have the conversation in her office. “Regardless of where you have the conversation, it is important to bring a witness,” she says. “My preferred witness is my contracted human resources manager.” After the conversation is over, Bar-


berio says it is important to brief the employee on information relating to their termination. “This includes dis- cussing their insurance benefits, unem- ployment options and final paycheck. Make sure they have all the informa- tion they need to move on. That is what a good employer would do.” Medina notes, “Have everything


you need ready from a legal per- spective before you speak with the


One of the most effective ways to reduce the likelihood of a lawsuit following termination is to always treat employees with respect, Medina says. “Once you have made the decision to terminate, it is about doing so in the kindest way possible. That might sound trite, but there is a lot of truth to it. People who are not treated well, even in the eventuality of a termination, tend to be more litigious than people who are treated kindly out the door.” It is best to not discuss an employee’s


termination with other staff members, Acker says. “I never share any details about a fired employee. As the admin- istrator, your side of the story can never be told. Every employee deserves that level of respect. “You never like to fire people, but sometimes you must make that diffi- cult decision,” she says. “It is a very important issue for employee morale. I do not think you can keep an under- performing employee on staff without deflating the morale of your high-per- forming employees.”


ASC FOCUS MARCH 2016 17


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