Reductions in force (RIFs) are a reality for most businesses. Because RIFs can lead to a variety of lawsuits, particularly involving some form of discrimination or protected class assertion, RPNA works with clients to structure and document legitimate legal and business reasons for selecting employees to be reduced.
There are a host of statutes that must be considered when selecting employees to be down sized, such as the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN); Title VII of the Civil Rights Act; Federal Older Workers’ Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA); Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA); and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
Because of the complexity of these statutes, ideally RPNA would be involved before the reduction occurs.This way, our attorneys assist in identifying which laws will apply to the selection of employees to be reduced, as well as properly document the requisite business reasons for those selections. Our attorneys then advise on how to conduct the RIF in order to mitigate potential WARN Act procedural claims.
In the event our client provides separation packages, RPNA advises on those plans to ensure they comply with the ADEA and OWBPA. If a lawsuit arises, the firm is then in a solid position to defend such litigation. Our attorneys work with clients to navigate these claims with deliberate sensitivity geared toward creating a solid legal framework of defense.