Sure. While we can’t prevent people from filing claims, there are a number of things employers can do to prevent acrimony and anger that can often lead to post-termination CT claims.
First, you can pay them for the day they came in and told they were being laid off. If possible, try to notify them by phone so they don’t have to travel into work and risk exposure. It’s little stuff like that that can really make people mad.
Secondly, be patient, polite and considerate. Attribute the immediate problems to the government orders – blame them for disrupting business operations. The local government basically invited you to do so. They are literally threatening misdemeanors and water/power shutoffs to employers who ignore their governmental orders, in the name of public safety. Make it clear that it’s the government who issued the “stay at home” order, not you.
If this is more of a layoff as in a termination due to financial circumstances, and you want these employees back, tell them that you’d like to invite them back when things improve. After all, you paid to train these people. It’s usually more efficient to have experienced employees come back than to have to retrain new people. And keep in mind that most people do want to “get back to normal.”
Remember that the labor law side of the Labor Code requires you to pay any owing wages and vacation at time of termination, so get those checks out quickly as well.
And lastly, in these layoffs of healthy employees, encourage them to file for unemployment with EDD. They paid into the system. As one applicant attorney I know always tells EDD when negotiating EDD settlement credits, he says, “It’s their (the applicants’) money. They paid into it. Why punish them for getting it? It’s literally their money.”
Now we do understand that unemployment affects the employer’s bankroll too, but it’s still cheaper than having a bunch of new work comp claims.
(February 12, 2021)