The purpose of this research paper is to discuss a specific topic of employment law, termination of employees, at Carlson Inc. This paper deals with a specific employee being terminated, that is, being fired for ineffective work performance. Two reasons for dismissal of an employee, namely absenteeism and poor job performance, are discussed later in this paper.
Fired is probably the word most often used for termination, and yet, in a majority of cases, it is incorrect. Fired implies involuntary dismissal for cause (poor performance, violation of rules). However, most people do not lose their jobs for any of those reasons. Today people are terminated for a number of reasons (Sweet, 1989, p. 5). Specific ones include the following: attrition because of merger or acquisition; discontinuance of a service or the closing or relocation of a particular facility; reduction in the workforce because of a shrinking or disappearing market; expansion, requiring broader skills than the capabilities of the incumbent employees; office politics; and ineffective performance, demonstrated by an ability to fulfill assigned duties (fired).
Charlie Evans is a marketing executive with Carlson, Inc., formerly a small, privately-owned, electronic and computer parts company with 65 employees, located in Los Angeles. After purchasing an ailing computer company and merging with it, the company increased its number of employees to more than 300 and found itself bloated with staff and overhead. The owner, Mr. Carlson, had decided to retain headquarters in Los Angeles, where all the marketing staff would be based, and to combine the assembly of all electronics, parts, and computers in the location of the acquired company in the San Fernando Valley. An across-the-board reduction in force ensued in the wake of the merger.
Within the context of this case scenario, this research paper involves an analysis of the statutes and regulations which define...