I know we&#x27;re going on and on here, and I want to say that I generally enjoy your comments and am not just trying to be the picky message board jerk I normally am. However:<p>It is very unlikely that a competent hiring practice will generate implied contracts for severance pay. Employees are not generally entitled to severance. Awarding severance to one employee probably doesn&#x27;t create an implied contract with other employees.<p>I keep coming back to this (elsewhere on the thread, too): the reason legalese employment agreements always tend to look the same is that they are designed to settle all these issues up front. I learned this when I had briefly hoped to create a more humane employment contract and employment handbook at a previous job, only to find out that pretty much only a lawyer can write either of those two things.<p>I think(?) the only thing at stake in a firing &quot;for cause&quot; is a later claim for defamation --- unless the terminated employee has a special contract which entitles them to things like severance unless terminated for cause.