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A protocol from the Firm & Fair Playbook

What to say when an employee threatens to sue or call the labor board

Don’t argue, don’t dare them, and don’t punish them for it. Say it’s their right, and stop:

“That’s your right, and I’m not going to argue with you about it.”

“I’m going to stop here for today. We’ll pick this up another time.”

Then write down their exact words that night, change nothing about their schedule, hours or tone, and get advice before the next step.

Firm & Fair · Checked October 2026

The situation

It usually comes in the middle of something else, and usually hot: a written warning, or the last minutes of a termination meeting. It sounds like one of these:

  • “I’m calling a lawyer.”
  • “I’m going to the labor board.”
  • “I’ll report you to OSHA.”
  • “I’m filing with the EEOC.”
  • “I’ll sue you.”

Sometimes it’s calm, in an email or a letter. Sometimes it’s a mutter on the way out the door. Treat every version the same way, because every version is a right.

Before you talk

  • It’s a right, not a threat. Employees are allowed to talk to a lawyer, and to go to the agencies that handle discrimination, wages, safety and group complaints about pay or conditions. Those laws make it illegal to punish someone for doing it, and saying they will is often protected too.
  • Punishing covers a lot more than firing: a worse schedule, fewer hours, more scrutiny, a lower review. A sudden cold shoulder is the kind of thing employees write down, too.
  • This is where owners get hurt. In fiscal 2025, retaliation was named in 54,350 of the 88,201 charges filed with the EEOC, about six in ten and more than any other basis (EEOC charge statistics, eeoc.gov). An owner can be right about the original problem and still be in trouble for what they did after the employee spoke up.
  • It doesn’t make anyone untouchable. Real problems still get handled, the same way you’d handle them for anyone. They get handled after you’ve gotten advice, because from now on the timing of everything you do will be looked at.
  • Stop the step you were on, unless it’s already done. If you haven’t delivered the warning, the plan or the firing yet, don’t do it today. Don’t tear up anything that’s legitimately documented, either. If you’d already told them today was their last day, finish the logistics calmly: the letter, the final check, the property. Add nothing new.
  • Change nothing. Same schedule, same hours, same jobs, same tone, same spot on the group text. Watch for the quiet kinds of payback: the worse shift, the cold shoulder, being left off Saturday overtime, suddenly checking their work twice as hard. Tell your managers the same thing, in those words.
  • Keep everything. Don’t delete texts, emails, schedules, camera footage or timecards. Assume someone may read all of it later.
  • Get advice before the next step: your employment attorney, or the employment helpline that many business insurance policies include.

The first words

You“That’s your right, and I’m not going to argue with you about it.”

“I’m going to stop here for today. We’ll pick this up another time.”

What they’ll say, and what you say

If they ask whether they’re about to be fired for saying it:

You“You won’t be treated any differently for saying that. Not today, and not later.”

If it’s about something specific, invite it in without talking them out of the outside call:

You“If you think your pay is off, I want to know too. Show me which weeks, and I’ll go through the timecards with you.”

You“If something out there isn’t safe, tell me what it is. I’ll look at it today.”

A pay or safety problem is also a complaint, and the complaint protocol takes it from there. The Playbook’s full protocol also covers a request for copies of their records, an investigator who calls or shows up, and two more lines never to say.

Never say

  • “Go ahead. See how far that gets you.”Why: It’s a dare with a threat behind it, and a threat is how a complaint becomes a retaliation claim.
  • “I’ll make it right if you drop it.”Why: Fixing a real mistake is good. Tying the fix to dropping the complaint looks like buying silence, and you generally can’t buy away someone’s right to go to an agency.

Write it down the same day

  • Tonight, on a conversation record: the date, time, place, and who was there. Their exact words: “I’m calling the labor board about my overtime,” not “he threatened me.” What you said back, word for word if you can. What you did next: “Stopped the meeting at 3:40.” Any letter or notice, and the day you sent it to your advisor.
  • No adjectives, and no guesses about motives. Write it as if someone who wasn’t in the room will read it someday, because someone might.
  • Fix what’s real. If they’re right about a short paycheck or a loose guardrail, fix it now, and ask your advisor how to handle any back pay.

Before any write-up or firing: the Check

Trouble often starts with something reasonable done at the wrong moment: a write-up the week after a complaint, a firing right after a request for time off. The Playbook has you run the Check first.

Before you act, has any of this happened?

  1. They complained about something at work recently.
  2. They asked for time off, or for a change in how or when they work.
  3. They told you about something personal that may need time off or a change at work.
  4. There’s a workers’ comp claim.
  5. They were a witness in someone else’s complaint.
  6. They’ve talked with coworkers about pay or working conditions.
  7. The timing could look like payback.
  8. It’s a layoff, and you’re choosing someone 40 or older.
  9. Someone could believe the real reason is a different one.

Any yes: stop, and get advice before the next step.

A tip from the Playbook: many business insurance policies include an HR or legal helpline. Find out whether yours does now, before you need it.

The Firm & Fair Playbook

The Firm & Fair Playbook

This is part of one of the Playbook’s two protocols. The full version has every line to say, what to do next, and what to write down the same day.

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Questions owners ask

Can you fire an employee for threatening to sue?

Don’t fire or punish anyone for saying it. It’s a right, not a threat. Employees are allowed to talk to a lawyer, and to go to the agencies that handle discrimination, wages, safety and group complaints about pay or conditions. Those laws make it illegal to punish someone for doing it, and saying they will is often protected too. Real problems still get handled the same way as for anyone: if they’re late again next week, it goes on paper, after you’ve gotten advice.

What if a letter comes from their lawyer or an agency?

Don’t call the employee about it, and don’t answer it yourself. Send it to your attorney the same day. If you carry employment practices insurance, call the insurer too, and read the policy’s rules for reporting a claim. They often set a time limit. On your record, note the letter and the day you sent it on.

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Not legal advice. Practical wording and process guidance for business owners, written for workplaces in the United States. For a specific situation, talk to an employment attorney licensed in your state.