Page 48 - BusinessWest November 28, 2022

Quiet Firings
This Developing Trend Is Moving in the Wrong Direction
By John Gannon, Esq.
Quiet quitting is a term many employers are familiar with — it involves a situa- tion where an employee disengages from
work and does only the bare minimum in order to get fired and collect unemployment.
Now, employers are firing back with quiet firings.
Quiet firing involves intentionally creating a difficult work environment and/or cutting pay or hours in a way that encourages people to leave voluntarily. In theory, the employee will quickly realize they need to get out and try to find alter- nate work elsewhere.
On the surface, ‘quietly firing’ a problematic or difficult employee might sound like a good idea. For starters, the manager or supervisor
gets to avoid an uncomfortable conversation that will certainly lead to bad feelings and pos- sibly boil over into a confrontation. Second, if the employee who is getting quietly fired is not meet- ing performance expectations, managers and supervisors avoid needing to coach them and give feedback.
They can also avoid discussions about the consequences of continued poor performance. Managers and supervisors may prefer this meth- od so they do not feel guilty about the end of the employment relationship. And quiet firing can be more easily accomplished in a remote or hybrid
environment, as disengaging is easier when you do not have to see someone in the office.
Finally, some employers may see this as an opportunity to avoid unemployment compen- sation claims or claims of unlawful termination because employees who resign normally have trouble succeeding with such claims.
adverse employment action, which can lead to claims of discrimination or retaliation.
Employees who are successful with these claims can sometimes recover big damage awards. For example, back in 2018, a jury award- ed $28 million in damages to a nurse who suc- ceeded in a retaliation claim against her employ-
Despite what may appear to be advantages for employers who quietly fire employees, employers should resist the urge to utilize use this strategy for a number of reasons. First, creating a hos-
tile work environment could lead to a lawsuit.
It is unlawful for an employer to create a hostile work environment that is tied to an employee’s protected characteristics, such as gender or race. Creating a hostile work environment or reducing an employee’s hours could also be considered an
er. Part of her claim was that she was being ver- bally abused by her supervisor. The jury agreed, and the employer had to pay — a lot — for this supervisor’s mistake.
Employees who feel as though they are being squeezed out might resort to avenues other than the courtroom to air their grievances. It is not hard to leave dam-
“Managers and supervisors may prefer this method so they do not feel guilty about the end of the employment relation- ship. And quiet firing can be more easily accomplished in a remote or hybrid environment, as disengaging is easier when you do not have to see someone in the office.”
aging feedback on Glassdoor, a web-
Quiet
Continued on page 71
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