Employers often give employees the option of resigning instead of being
discharged and often fail to appreciate the dangers of this approach. The
fact that forcing a resignation is actually the legal equivalent of a
discharge is not known to all employers. A resignation also gives the
employee a potential retaliation claim after refusing to sign a legal
release and being fired. A claim can be made that the firing occurred
because the employee refused to give up federal civil rights. Also,
offering employees a choice to resign frequently leads to shortcuts,
because the employer incorrectly believes that if the employee resigns,
the employer doesn’t have to comply with its polices or otherwise support
a discharge.
