If your corporation is facing a variety of claims from employees, the key to building your defense is often documentation and accurate recordkeeping. This documentation provides a solid basis for your defense strategy and can help to push back against claims being made by the employee.
For instance, perhaps an employee claims that they have been wrongfully terminated. Even though they are in an at-will relationship and do not have an employment contract, they claim that the termination is unfair because it was based on a protected class, such as religion, race or age.
In a situation like this, useful documentation could include performance records for the employee, any disciplinary actions that have been taken and things of this nature. The employee may claim they are being discriminated against, but this paper trail can help to show that their work was not satisfactory, you took steps to correct it, no improvement was seen and you actually fired the employee for a valid reason that had nothing to do with their inclusion in a protected class.
Wage and hour claims
Similarly, employees may allege that they have been paid unfairly. Wage and hour claims often involve a lack of overtime pay, failure to pay bonuses or commissions and even allegations that they have been paid less than minimum wage.
Once again, documentation of pay records and financial transfers can help to demonstrate that you did in fact pay the employee fairly and within the bounds of the law. If an employee has a contract, it should specify exactly what their pay rate is, whether that is a salary or an hourly wage. But even if they do not have an official contract, you can present records of their hours worked and the compensation that was paid out to show that there was no wrongdoing.
These are just two examples of common employee disputes, underscoring how important documentation and recordkeeping really are in these cases. Be sure you know exactly what legal steps to take to seek a resolution.