o The lay off was for the violation and not for an improper reason. Lackluster productivity is as simple as it sounds. The employee will naturally want to know why you have selected him for the voluntary package.

o With high-risk layoff, you negotiate a release before layoff. The dismissal notice must stick to the facts. Sighs, shrugs, eye rolling and gagging motions border on insubordination and set a bad example for your coworkers. The first recipient, the worker in question, wants a brief account of his or her behavioral problems. Remember this rule, "if it's not written down, it didn't happen." So without written evidence, the hearing officer won't believe your side of the story. o Has her legal counselor send you demand notices to complain about illegal treatment or to ask you to clarify your actions. The next chapter gives you a program for estimating your separation risk. Undoubtedly, if the insubordinate worker is destroying the department's performance and morale, then your only choice may be immediate termination. Within this section, you should state that this final incident has left you with no other choice than to fire this jobholder. You want to avoid opinions and any wording the worker could misinterpret as prejudice. There are times when dismissing someone for an wrongful or stupid reason is cheaper (in time, money and emotion) than keeping the individual on. Then you must put that individual back on the payroll.