The Company Playbook
Recognizing the Warning Signs of a Wrongful Termination
Most employers won’t openly admit when they’re trying to push out an employee for an illegal reason. Instead, they follow a familiar script—a set of tactics designed to justify a decision that has already been made. I call this “The Company Playbook.” Understanding these warning signs can help employees protect their rights and gather evidence early.
Below are the most common strategies employers use when they want to get rid of an employee for discriminatory or retaliatory reasons, but need a pretext to make it look legitimate.
1. Manufacturing Performance Problems
Companies frequently create a paper trail after the fact to portray a good employee as a poor performer. Classic signs include:
- Sudden negative reviews after years of positive evaluations
- New quotas or expectations no one else must meet
- “Surprise” performance improvement plans (PIPs) with impossible deadlines
- Managers rewriting history to support a predetermined outcome
Any abrupt change in your performance story—especially following a complaint, medical leave, or other protected activity—is a red flag.
2. Selective Enforcement of Policies
When a company wants to terminate an employee, policies that were previously ignored suddenly become “strictly enforced.” Examples:
- Enforcing attendance rules against one employee but not others
- Targeting minor infractions (being a few minutes late, dress code issues)
- Retroactive application of rules no one was told about
If a policy is applied inconsistently, it’s often because the policy isn’t the real reason.
3. Setting Employees Up to Fail
Another tactic is creating conditions designed to guarantee failure:
- Assigning more work than can be completed
- Withholding training, information, or tools
- Changing job duties to tasks the employee has never done
- Setting contradictory or vague expectations
This is often used to create a “performance” excuse—when the true motive is something else.
4. Sudden Documentation Blitzes
When management anticipates litigation, they start layering emails, memos, and write-ups into the employee’s file. You will often see:
- Daily or weekly “check-ins” that serve only to criticize
- Back-dated or retroactive write-ups
- Negative comments inserted into routine emails
- Supervisors copying HR on minor issues
This is not documentation for improvement—it’s documentation for termination.
5. The “Reorganization” or “Position Eliminated” Pretext
Employers often hide wrongful motives behind structural changes. Warning signs include:
- Your position is “eliminated,” but your duties are reassigned to others
- The company suddenly claims a need to “reduce costs,” despite hiring elsewhere
- Only certain employees (often older workers, employees with disabilities, or whistleblowers) are affected
These restructuring claims often fall apart under scrutiny.
6. Retaliation Disguised as Discipline
After an employee reports discrimination, harassment, safety issues, or unlawful conduct, employers may respond with:
- A sudden increase in scrutiny
- Write-ups for trivial matters
- Exclusion from meetings or opportunities
- Negative changes in schedule, pay, or assignments
Retaliation often appears subtle at first—but it is illegal from the very first act.
7. Creating a Hostile Work Environment to Force a Quit
Sometimes the company avoids firing an employee outright by trying to make the workplace unbearable:
- Isolation or “freezing out”
- Removing responsibilities
- Public criticism or humiliation
- Assigning the worst shifts or duties
- Pressuring the employee to resign
This is commonly known as constructive discharge—treating someone so poorly that quitting becomes the only reasonable option.
8. The Ageist “Time to Retire” Script
For older employees, management sometimes uses coded language such as:
- “Isn’t it time to slow down?”
- “We’re looking for fresh energy.”
- “Have you thought about transitioning out?”
These comments often accompany attempts to push out older, higher-paid, or longer-tenured employees.
9. HR’s “Neutral” Investigations That Aren’t Neutral
Human Resources is not an employee advocate. When a company wants someone gone, internal investigations may:
- Accept management’s version without question
- Ignore witnesses who would support the employee
- Mischaracterize statements
- Conclude “no violation” despite clear evidence
HR’s job is to protect the company—not the employee.
10. Offering a Quick, Low-Value Severance With a Waiver
When a company realizes its case is weak, it may offer a severance agreement conditioned on:
- A full release of all legal claims
- Confidentiality
- Non-disparagement
- Strict return-of-property rules
These offers often appear generous but are usually designed to avoid liability cheaply.
Bottom Line
If you recognize one or more of these tactics, your employer may be preparing to terminate you for an unlawful reason. The earlier you seek legal advice, the more options you may have to protect your job, negotiate a severance, or build a strong legal case.