Reduction in force

joquinn

If you let either a part-time or full time employee go due to a reduction in staff in Louisiana, how long do you need to wait before you can hire someone else or do you need to notify that person and hire them back. If the person is in a protected class, female, and over 40 years of age does this make a difference?

Don D

A medium sized textbook could be written involving the issues you present in your question. There is no automatic amount of time that must absolutely pass. Some attorneys recommend six months. But, it could be six days under the right circumstances. If your motivation for calling it a reduction in force is really to cover up other reasons for terming the ee, you may want to be real cautious in restaffing the position; and probably run it by your labor attorney. Yes, being in a protected class does absolutely make a difference. Any time an employment decision can be considered actionable, it will clearly hinge on the person's demographics and your reasons for terminating them. The EEOC and a jury can easily view as discriminatory such terminations if your defense is not airtight or at least convincing. If, on the other hand, the guy was 36, white, no disability issues, no religious preference and the action occured in Louisiana.....clear sailing. All you might be risking is a miniscule escalation of your UI tax rate, if that.