During these hard economic times, layoffs are causing an upswing in EEOC claims.

A recent article written by Jeff Thomas in the Boulder County Business Report has attorneys and local EEOC employees stating that wrongful termination claims will increase during these slow economic times. During this down economic time, laid off employees are having a harder time finding a replacement job.  As time drags on with out employment, the ex-employee will likely become angry and focus on the lay off. Employers need to make sure that they are abiding by fair employment practices during lay offs or they will have employment attorneys and the EEOC knocking on their doors. Lay offs should be handled very carefully and employers should make sure they have good documentation to back up their decision. Both, EEOC representatives and attorneys, that are quoted in this article state that the number of disputes are rising. 

Employers need to get assistance through either their employment attorneys or their HR representatives.  It is too easy for an employer to pick the wrong employee to lay off, only to have that employee come back with a wrongful termination or discrimination claim. These type issues are expertly handled through the use of a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) such as StaffScapes. PEOs act as an outsourced HR department and give expert advise on legal employment matters such as lay offs.