Asking for a family member . I'm retired so it's NOT me .
Is there a required procedure for terminating someone that is an officer in the company ? Can the owner just say " You're fired " , or is there any legal requirement for a written termination , etc. ? Please , no speculation . I really need someone with business experience to help me out here .

Mrs. Mike is an HR guru, she says:
-if it’s a right to work state, he can say goodbye
-he might have a contract and that brings up problems
-any company policy around firing, they have to follow…or the can be sued

Depends on the state and manner of hire. Some states heavily favor the employee, others the employer, some in the middle.

If the employee if being let go for [provable] ethical reasons, all bets are off.

If the employee is being let go as a result of his/ her demographic - lawsuit however; most (read: 50.01%+) typically have their ducks in a row before letting a VP, CEO, etc go.

If let go because the employee just isn't working out and was hired with a stipulation (leave Ford and become Boeing CEO and we'll guarantee four years and stock...) then the employee has little to no choice but to pack bags, update resume, and wait for next check(s).

BTW, letter of termination can be simple; owner of company walk to his/ her desk, takes piece of paper (hopefully with company letterhead) and writes, "John Smith, You're fired. //s// John Doe" easy peasy.

Actually it's family drama . His father in law owns the company and it looks like a divorce is in the works . Messy , convaluted situation .

Does the family member really want to work there under those impending circumstances or, move on with life?

Divorce process, though painful, is very short compared to "rest of life." (Good luck trying to convince a person of that while going through the divorce though)

quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
Does the family member really want to work there under those impending circumstances or, move on with life?

Divorce process, though painful, is very short compared to "rest of life." (Good luck trying to convince a person of that while going through the divorce though)

He has accepted the inevitable but is scared to death that he's going to get screwed over because the mother in law is evil and vindictive . Obviously he will need an Attorney because they will have to settle with him at some point because his name is on everything . He's just curious if there is any legal requirements when it comes to terminating his employment due to him being an officer .

Does he have any ownership of the company? If so, is there an operating agreement?

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Originally posted by nshumway:
Does he have any ownership of the company? If so, is there an operating agreement?

His share is 15% . Probably no formal operating agreement .

quote:

His share is 15% . Probably no formal operating agreement .

Then you may need a local attorney. I'd assume most states have laws that govern the lack of an operating agreement, but those laws would likely give him more benefit than the others at the company would like him to have.

selogic, tell him to find a local lawyer with experience in buisness and employment law now. For good or for ill, the ideal lawyer may well have experience in divorce-driven corporate problems like this one. There's more to this than you can ask, or have explained, on a forum, and the specifics will certainly matter.

Regardless what the state laws are it’s always easier to “build” a case against the person you are firing before they get fired. That way if they come back with a wrongful termination suit you have a history of events which lead to their firing.

This is general corporate law so things may be different in your state. However, corporate law is pretty uniform so it’s probably pretty similar.

I’m assuming this is a corporation, although some LLCs have officers. Regardless, first question is whether the officer in question has an employment agreement. If so, the company has to follow the agreement. If no agreement, the company’s bylaws/articles of incorporation describe how officers are selected - typically by the board of directors. If there are no bylaws, state statutes control.

Check for a contract; if none check the bylaws; if none check the relevant statutes. Unless something is unusual about this company, the board selects the officers so they can hire them and fire them at will (unless there is a contract). Being an owner is different from being an officer so don’t confuse the two.