At will vs. for cause

As Brenda Williams hits the job-seeking trail, she's not nearly as concerned about employers' policies as much as making a positive first impression with the prospective boss.

But, if and when the Post Falls woman is hired, she admits those work situations will become much closer in interest after she comes on board.

"How an employer handles termination always sticks in the back of my mind - even if I'm very confident in what I'm doing," Williams said on Friday outside the Idaho Department of Labor, where she was seeking accounting job opportunities.

"Do employer policies limit my job search? Not at all. But will they linger in my mind after I get hired somewhere? Definitely."

When it comes to employee termination policies - and specifically whether to go with "at will" or "for cause" - local employers' opinions of them are as diverse as reasons to can someone.

At-will employers can fire someone at any time and with no reason given. No advance notice is required. With for cause, employers follow a process and document why an employee is to be fired.

'At will' maintained at county

Employee termination policy was at the forefront during a short, but heated meeting of the Kootenai County board of commissioners and about 30 department heads and elected county officials last week.

Commission Chairman David Stewart, who campaigned on changing the county's minimum level (baseline) policy from at will to for cause when he was elected last fall, said he called the meeting and brought the topic forward believing the policy was going to be changed based on earlier board discussions.

But fellow commissioners Marc Eberlein and Dan Green said they favor sticking with at will, thus leaving the policy unchanged.

Green has always supported at will and was a part of the previous board that made the switch from for cause to at will. But Stewart said Eberlein's position came to him as a sudden surprise.

"I was blindsided," Stewart said after the meeting, adding that a draft of the changed policy had even been prepared for the meeting.

But Eberlein said he wanted more input - despite his earlier opinions - before making a final decision.

"I didn't campaign for any policy," he told Stewart at the meeting. "I campaigned for fair compensation."

Eberlein and Green believe an at-will policy protects taxpayers from paying out lawsuit settlements in cases where the for-cause procedure isn't followed perfectly.

"If you don't follow every aspect of the policy and terminate someone, you'll have a lawsuit due to not following the policy," Eberlein said. "My job is to wisely manage the tax dollars of Kootenai County. At will minimizes expenses, which means tax dollars."

Green said that, regardless of the policy, good employees have nothing to worry about.

"If you get rid of the (for-cause) process, you eliminate the liability," he said. "I've seen checks written (for employee termination settlements) that I'm very frustrated with. If we had at will (in previous years) we may not have written some of those checks. I'm not out to fire people. I'm out to reduce the liability to the county."

The Press earlier reported that Kenneth Stone, a former deputy prosecutor, received $315,000 from the Idaho Counties Risk Management Plan to settle a wrongful termination and age discrimination suit against the county. It also reported the county paid former 911 operations manager Amber Schafer $60,000 as part of a settlement agreement, former community development director Scott Clark $30,000 and former human resources employee Christina Anderson $12,000.

Commissioner vows to revisit issue

Stewart vowed to continue his efforts to have the policy changed after next year's county election.

"For cause doesn't stop us from being able to fire people," he said. "It allows for a process, warnings and gives employees an opportunity to correct their behavior. I don't know how many times (as a former employer) that employees said they didn't know they were underperforming, but thanked me for bringing it to their attention."

As the commissioner that deals with possible employee termination cases, he said he was able to have the county avoid firing two employees this year by communicating on the issues. In one other case, the employee was terminated.

Stewart said for cause also improves employee morale because workers aren't worried about being fired for any reason. He said his passion on the subject was partly fueled by a 2013 county employee survey that revealed most workers were content working in their own departments, but were more negative toward the county as a whole.

Green said he has to balance the question of employee morale vs. liability to the county and, when doing so, leans toward protecting liability and his fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers.

Even though the commissioners maintained at will as its baseline termination policy, individual departments with elected officials have the option of going with a for-cause policy for their department. Those departments vary on the policy. The sheriff's office, for example, operates with a for-cause policy.

Shawn Riley, the county's building and grounds director, said he's fine with staying with the at-will policy.

"As a director, if you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, talking with the employees and documenting what they're doing, then it doesn't matter which policy it is," Riley said. "As directors, we're entrusted to do our homework. If you've done your homework, you've leased the county of litigation and liability. I don't have a problem with staying with at will, but I can understand why some people want for cause because it may put their mind at ease."

Policies vary among other local agencies

Outside the county, policies with other local government agencies also vary.

The cities of Post Falls and Rathdrum, for example, both made the switch to for cause several years ago to allow a process for employees to appeal termination decisions.

"It protects an employee from being terminated at the whim of a supervisor, but also does allow for the termination, suspension or demotion of an employee when there is a valid legal reason to do so," Brett Boyer, Rathdrum's city administrator.

Post Falls department heads recently revisited switching back to at will, but chose to continue as a for-cause employer.

Hayden, meanwhile, switched to be being an at-will employer three years ago.

"It establishes that there is no implied contractual agreement and gives both employee and employer the ability to end the employment relationship at any time without concerns about notice," said Stefan Chatwin, Hayden's administrator.

Idaho law outlines how school employees are to be dealt with regarding termination. Certified staff can only be terminated for cause and are not at-will employees. Classified support staff are at-will employees.

"In general, we treat all of our employees the same and, if their job performance is not meeting the standards, we provide guidance and support to correct any deficiencies prior to considering termination," Post Falls School Superintendent Jerry Keane said. "However, there are certain egregious acts that would be subject for immediate action - most likely suspension - until we can fully investigate."

Josh McKenna, Idaho Department of Labor unemployment insurance benefits bureau chief, said his department sees an even split in cases where the employee was fired due to breaking a company policy and terminated for another reason outside that policy.

He said his department doesn't advocate for any specific policy, but constantly reminds employers to provide their employees a set of policies and expectations and have the employee sign the documents.

"We do know that every situation is not covered under a policy and that there are common expectations," McKenna said. "But when it comes to discharges, it's up to the employer to prove its case. When the (testimonies) are equal, and the employer cannot prove its case, the employee is awarded the benefits."

Meanwhile, Williams said she's moving ahead with her job search knowing that, wherever she lands with work, the termination policy will be among the procedures she's most interested in when she signs the dotted line.

"It's not something that I dwell on because I know my work ethic and abilities, but it's always stuck in the back of your mind," she said.