Is this an unfair layoff?

Question

My husband has just been informed by his company that he is being terminated as of three weeks from now. This is a small startup of some 30 employees. My husband was told that he was not a good match for the company and that three people find him difficult to work with. He has worked for this company for a little over a year, with never a warning that anything was wrong with his performance, so this termination comes as a total shock. It so happens he is one of the highest-paid employees, and they've just hired two less skilled new people to do similar work. No severance is being offered. Also, my husband was lured into joining this company by a high salary and signing bonus, from a senior position in his previous company of ten years. The person who hired him to the startup was a co-founder of the startup and someone my husband had worked with closely at the previous company. This person is now offering my husband contracting work at the startup after the layoff, ostensibly to help him out.

Does my husband have grounds to sue this startup for an unfair layoff? What kind of compensation could he expect if he wins the case?

Many thanks for your help!

Answer 1

I doubt he would win a case.   No one is guaranteed a job forever, especially in a salaried position.   Start ups will not survive unless everyone is playing on the same team, and that can take some weeding.

If your husband is as skilled as you think, that he should be indispensable he will have no trouble finding another position.

Answer 2

I'm not a lawyer but: Unless there was an employment contract between your husband and the company, and the company has violated it in some way, I don't really see that there's a case to be made. For the most part, employers can, and do, lay people off for little or no good reason.

Answer 3

unless he has a contract that has been breached he has nothing to sue for.

severance is not a requirement of law and the employer does not have to give a warning when terminating an employee. if the employer does not have cause to terminate him then he will qualify for unemployment insurance (as long as he meets the other criteria).  

failure to accept an "independent contractor" position will not disqualify him from unemployment like failing to accept a job would.

he can not and should not expect any kind of compensation and he should at least consider their offer for an independent contractor position at least until he finds something suitable and permanent.

Answer 4

Sorry, but the layoff isn't illegal, and he shouldn't expect any compensation.  He isn't going to win a case, and any ethical lawyer he'd consult would tell him that.

No severance package is required by law.

He would most likely be eligible for unemployment.

Good luck.