Separation Notice Required?

[LLTspider]

Greetings...

Was wondering... aren't employers required to give an employee a separation notice that states the most basic of information, such as "reason for termination", whether it is with or without cause, and the specifics of any severance pay? I mean, there are apparently several different classifications of severance pay - some prevent immediate collection of unemployment, others do not. And how could you determine wrongfull termination if your previous employer is allowed to withhold the reason for termination? Of course, any such document would also have the practical advantage of facilitating (in most cases anyway) the finding of new gainful employment.

[mlane58]

In order for anyone here to provide you with an accurate answer, let us know the state you are in as it will affect the answer you get.

[LLTspider]

Sure... I'm in Colorado. That's one reason I posted it under the "Colorado Labor Laws" sub-category. Being new, I thought that was pretty much the place for Colorado-related posts.

[Pattymd]

I'm sure Mark will correct me if I'm wrong, but I did not see any Colorado law in my research that requires such a statement. The only state that comes immediately to mind that requires a separation statement, and that is only upon request, is Missouri, although there might be a few others.

And considering your sarcasm, you're lucky I responded to this at all.

[mlane58]

Patty, you are correct that Colorado has no provisions that requires employers to provide it's employees with seperation notices.

[cbg]

There is NO state where an employer is required to provide the reasons for termination as a matter of course. Even in states with service letter requirements such as Missouri, the employer is only required to provide the reason for the term upon the employee's written request.

Colorado law does not require the employer to provide service letters or a reason for termination at all.

Poster, the responders here respond to a great many messages per day and occasionally forget which forum they're on. The sarcasm was unnecessary.

[tkalteux]

Actually the state of GA and TN both require separation notices for the purpose of filing for state unemployment benefits. These notices are to be given at time of separation and are to list both the reason for termination and if any severance pay was given. These are slightly different than the MO service letter you mention above. The MO service letter must be requested in writing from the terminated employee and failure to provide one carries severe penalties

[Pattymd]

tkalteux, did you notice that this thread is nearly three years old? Please do not post to long dead threads.

[cbg]

And in any case, as I understood the OP they were asking about something more like the MO service letter, not like the GA UI notice. I was not aware of the TN one; thanks for the information.