A layoff is dozens of termination decisions made at once, which means dozens of chances to create a pattern. This checker scores the defensibility of your selection process and runs the adverse impact screen most small employers skip.
This tool provides general defensibility screening and a simplified adverse impact calculation for planning purposes. It is not legal advice; the four-fifths rule is a screening signal with known small-sample limitations, not a legal determination. Reductions in force involving age-40+ waivers, WARN-scale numbers, or public-sector rules need counsel review before execution.
RIF claims rarely attack the business decision to reduce; they attack how individuals were selected. Written objective criteria, records that match the choices, documented exceptions, and an independent review of the final list are what make selections defensible. The score weights exactly those elements.
Selection rate equals employees selected divided by group size. The impact ratio compares the group of concern's rate to the comparison group's rate. The federal Uniform Guidelines use the four-fifths rule as a general signal: a selection rate under 80% of the highest group's rate warrants a closer look. It is a screen, not a verdict, and it is unreliable with very small numbers, which the tool flags.
A RIF that includes an employee who recently filed a complaint, requested leave, sought an accommodation, or reported an injury may draw retaliation scrutiny. An individual protected-activity review of the proposed list is a high-value part of RIF preparation.
Performance may be used only when it is a legitimate, consistently applied selection criterion supported by records that predate the RIF. Selecting an employee for performance when the existing file says “meets expectations” creates a credibility problem that should be resolved before notification.
A properly drafted release may reduce some risks, but age-claim waivers for employees 40 and over have specific statutory requirements, and group programs add disclosure obligations. A defective waiver may not provide the intended age-claim protection despite the severance payment.
Less than it would at scale, and the tool flags this. With small groups, one person changes the ratio dramatically. The screen still has value as a prompt: if the ratio looks bad even with small numbers, look at the names and reasons individually.
The federal WARN Act generally covers certain employers with 100 or more employees when a plant closing or mass layoff reaches statutory thresholds, subject to detailed counting rules and exceptions. Complete that analysis early, and also check any applicable state or local notice law.
Book a no-cost 30-minute consult. Bring your result, and leave with a straight read on the risk and a practical next step.