Termination review — high-risk flag detection, severance + release, and final pay timing by jurisdiction. Jurisdiction-specific rules and release consideration periods are researched per review, not stored. Use when the user says "reviewing a termination", "can we fire this person", "term review", o

/termination review 1. Load ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude for legal/employment legal/CLAUDE.md → termination review triggers, high risk flags, severance practice, jurisdiction rules. 2. Use the workflow below. 3. Walk the checklist. Check every high risk flag. 4. Final pay timing per employee's jurisdiction. Severance + release if applicable. 5. If any high risk flag fires: escalate per table, don't proceed without sign off. Matter context Matter context. Check Matter workspaces in the practice level CLAUDE.md. If Enabled is ✗ (the default for in house users), skip the rest of this paragraph — skills use practice level context and the matter machinery is invisible. If enabled and there is no active matter, ask: "Which matter is this for? Run /employment legal:matter workspace switch <slug or say practice level ." Load the active matter's matter.md for matter specific context and overrides. Write outputs to the matter folder at ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude for legal/employment legal/matters/<matter slug / . Never read another matter's files unless Cross matter context is on . Purpose Most terminations are fine. A few are lawsuits waiting to happen. This skill runs the checklist that catches the second kind before the decision is final. The skill does not state the law — every jurisdiction specific rule and release period requirement is researched and cited at the time of review. Load context ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude for legal/employment legal/CLAUDE.md → termination review triggers, high risk flags, standard severance, jurisdiction table. Output header Prepend the work product header from ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude for legal/employment legal/CLAUDE.md → Outputs (it differs by user role — see Who's using this ). Match the memo format from seed term memos referenced in that config where one exists. The work product header is always first. Workflow Step 1: The basic facts Employee name (or role if staying abstract) Jurisdiction (where they work) Reason for termination (performance, misconduct, RIF, position elimination) How long employed Age (relevant to release requirements for older worker protections) Whether any other employees are being terminated as part of the same decisional unit or program (relevant to group termination release rules) When is the planned term date Step 2: High risk flag scan This is the most important step. Check every flag from ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude for legal/employment legal/CLAUDE.md . Default set: Flag Why it's high risk Check Recent complaint Retaliation claim Has this employee filed any complaint (HR, ethics hotline, regulatory) recently? Protected leave Leave law interference/retaliation Currently on or recently returned from protected leave (FMLA/state equivalents, disability, parental, military)? Protected class + timing Discrimination claim Protected class AND recently disclosed/visible (pregnancy announcement, religious accommodation request, disability disclosure)? Whistleblower Federal and state whistleblower statutes Has this employee raised concerns about illegality, safety, fraud? Thin documentation "Why now?" problem For performance terms: is there a PIP, written warnings, documented feedback? Or did this come out of nowhere? Comparator problem Disparate treatment Is someone else doing the same thing and not being terminated? Contract/handbook promise Breach Does the offer letter, handbook, or any writing promise a process that isn't being followed? Exempt misclassification FLSA + state wage claim with liquidated damages See the classification check below. Fires on state + classification + title. Exempt/non exempt classification flag. Fire this flag when ALL of the following are true: 1. The employee works in a state with a high exempt salary threshold — CA, NY, WA, CO, AK (and any other state listed in ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude for legal/employment legal/CLAUDE.md → Wage & hour → Known classification risk areas as a high threshold state) — AND 2. The employee is classified exempt (salaried, no overtime) — AND 3. The employee's title contains "supervisor," "lead," "coordinator," "analyst," "administrator," or "specialist" (case insensitive, and any equivalent scope title the practice profile flags as risky). When all three fire, emit: 🔴 Potential exempt misclassification — [title] earning $[X] in [state]. The exempt salary threshold in [state] is approximately $[Y] [model knowledge — verify] . Before termination, route to /employment legal:wage hour qa for a classification check — a misclassified employee who's terminated has a ready made FLSA and state wage claim with liquidated damages, attorneys' fees, and (in CA) PAGA exposure, which the separation agreement may not be able to release cleanly. A terminated plaintiff with unpaid OT exposure is the most litigated wage and hour fact pattern in these states. Do not suppress this flag because the title "looks managerial" — the whole premise of the misclassification claim is that titles lie. Route to /employment legal:wage hour qa for the actual duties and salary test. If a back pay number is being computed as part of this review (severance modeling, settlement posture, exposure estimate), do NOT compute it in this skill. Route to wage hour qa → Step 2a and use its regular rate scaffold: §207(e) inclusions (non discretionary bonuses, commissions, shift diffs) in the regular rate, 0.5× premium when straight time was already paid for OT hours (else 1.5×), liquidated damages under §216(b), and 2 year / 3 year willful SOL under §255(a). Every back pay number carries [verify — consult wage and hour counsel before asserting or paying] . A clean looking wrong number here is the specific failure mode this scaffold prevents. Any flag fires → escalate per ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude for legal/employment legal/CLAUDE.md before the term proceeds. Not after. Before. Step 3: Jurisdiction specific requirements Research the applicable rules for the employee's jurisdiction before finalizing the plan. Specifically: Final pay timing — this varies widely by state and often depends on whether the employee was terminated or resigned. Research the currently operative rule, including any waiting time or late pay penalties. Accrued PTO payout — research whether the jurisdiction requires payout, and any interaction with accrual cap or use it or lose it policies. Required notices — research any jurisdiction specific notices required at termination (e.g., state unemployment, continuation coverage notices beyond federal COBRA, benefits continuation). Mass layoff / plant closing notices — research federal WARN Act and any state "mini WARN" or local ordinance that may apply if this is part of a larger reduction. Coverage thresholds and notice periods differ. Cite primary sources. Verify currency. No silent supplement. If a research query to the configured legal research tool returns few or no results for the jurisdiction's final pay, PTO, notice, or WARN rule, report what was found and stop. Do NOT fill the gap from web search or model knowledge without asking. Say: "The search returned [N] results from [tool]. Coverage appears thin for [jurisdiction / rule]. Options: (1) broaden the search query, (2) try a different research tool, (3) search the web — results will be tagged [web search — verify] and should be checked against a primary source before relying, or (4) stop here and flag for attorney verification. Which would you like?" A lawyer decides whether to accept lower confidence sources. Source attribution. Tag every citation in the plan — final pay rule, PTO rule, notices, WARN / mini WARN, OWBPA consideration periods, state release restrictions — with where it came from: [Westlaw] , [CourtListener] , or the MCP tool name for citations retrieved from a legal research connector; [web search — verify] for web search citations; [model knowledge — verify] for citations recalled from training data; [user provided] for citations the user supplied. Citations tagged verify carry higher fabrication risk and should be checked first. Never strip or collapse the tags. Step 4: Severance and release Per ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude for legal/employment legal/CLAUDE.md → standard severance: Is severance being offered? Per formula or discretionary? Release required? (Usually yes if paying severance — that's the consideration.) Research the applicable release consideration rules. If the employee is 40 or over, federal law (OWBPA) imposes specific requirements that affect the consideration period, revocation period, required advisements, and — for group terminations — required decisional unit disclosures. The specific consideration period differs between an individual termination, a group RIF, and a group exit incentive; the rule also depends on the employee's age and the number of employees affected. Do not state the day count from memory — research the currently operative rule for the specific situation and cite primary sources. Also research any state law analogs or parallel release requirements. Verify currency. Separately, consider whether any of the following apply to the release: State specific waiver restrictions (some states limit what can be released or require specific language). Federal or state restrictions on non disclosure or non disparagement clauses that relate to sexual harassment, discrimination, or other protected categories. Separation agreement rules on NLRA protected activity. Step 5: Documentation check For performance terminations especially: Is there a paper trail? Written warnings, PIP, feedback docs? Does the paper trail tell a consistent story? Is there anything in writing that contradicts the reason (recent positive review, bonus, promotion)? The "why now" question: if this person has been underperforming for a year, what changed? The answer should be documented. Output Research connector pre flight. Before emitting the memo, check whether a legal research connector is reachable for this session — Westlaw, CourtListener, or any firm configured research MCP. Collect this into the reviewer note per CLAUDE.md Outputs : if no connector returns results in Step 3 (or none is configured at run time), record it in the Sources: line of the reviewer note — e.g., not connected — cites from training knowledge; the highest fabrication topics in termination law memos are final pay timing, OWBPA group/individual distinctions, state specific NDA / non disparagement rules (e.g., CA SB 331), and NLRB positions (e.g., McLaren Macomb) — spot check those first . Per citation [model knowledge — verify] tags remain inline. Do not emit a standalone banner above the memo. Jurisdiction assumption. This review assumes the employee's jurisdiction as stated in Step 1 and any defaults from ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude for legal/employment legal/CLAUDE.md → Jurisdictional footprint. Employment rules, final pay timing, release requirements, and notice obligations vary materially by jurisdiction. If the employee works in a different state or country, or if choice of law is contested, this analysis may not apply as written. Match the memo format from seed term memos referenced in ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude for legal/employment legal/CLAUDE.md . If none: Consequential action gate (terminate an employee) Before producing a "Go" recommendation or a term day checklist marked ready: Read Who's using this in ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude for legal/employment legal/CLAUDE.md . If the Role is Non lawyer : Terminating an employee has legal consequences — wr

termination-review