If You’re On a Performance Improvement Plan, it Might Be Time to Call a Lawyer

No employee is happy when they’re put on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). These plans usually include a series of specific areas where the worker must get better in a given period of time. If the required improvement does not occur, the employee should expect to be terminated from their position. Once you’ve been given a PIP, it might be time to start looking at other job opportunities. It also might be time to call a lawyer.

While some PIPs represent authentic efforts to help an employee make positive changes, many are just a gradual way of beginning the termination process. Even worse, a plan could be a ruse to hide the fact that a worker is being let go for an unlawful reason, such as discrimination or retaliation for reporting workplace misconduct. 

Employees who are placed on a PIP should be mindful of several potential red flags, such as:

  • Ambiguous expectations — The purported goal of a PIP is to outline specific, measurable goals. If the plan is vague, inconsistent or lacks specific criteria for success, there might be no real way for the worker to show that they achieved the agreed-upon objectives.

  • Misrepresentation — If the employee has consistently met performance standards in the past and is suddenly placed on a PIP for issues that appear to be exaggerated or inconsistent with previous evaluations, it could suggest that the PIP is not being used to help the employee improve, but to build a case for termination.

  • Unattainable goals — Before you agree to a PIP, you should honestly assess whether the metrics used in the plan can reasonably be achieved. For example, a sales representative who is required to double the revenue they bring in over a three-month period might want to acknowledge that they've been effectively fired.

  • Suspicious timing — Sudden complaints about performance might not be on the level if they come shortly after an employee lodges a complaint about discrimination, requests a disability accommodation or asks to take family leave time. 

Of course, Texas is an at-will employment law state, which means that your employer does not have to put you on a PIP before dismissing you. They don’t even have to provide a reason that they’re letting you go. However, if you suspect that discrimination or retaliation could be a factor in your firing or your placement on a PIP, an experienced attorney at Kardell Law Group can review your situation and assess whether your rights are being violated.