Because there are many legal risks associated with employee termination, should terminations be avoided?

No, absolutely not. There are risks in taking no action, too. For example, an employee's poor performance or misconduct will impact production and employee morale. Other employees expect a fair workplace and will resent it if employees who should be terminated are simply ignored, leading to bad attitudes, lost customers and lower revenues.

Also, employers who ignore threatening or abusive employees may find themselves facing a negligent retention or sexual harassment lawsuit.

By dealing with employee misconduct or nonperformance immediately and handling it correctly, an organization protects itself and its employees. There is no guarantee that there will not be a lawsuit, but if a lawsuit is filed, it should be defensible.