“I live in a right-to-work state, so my employer can shitcan me for any reason”.
-Linus K. Lemming
Sorry friends, that’s at-will employment, *and you still can’t be terminated for any reasons that are protected by law, but we’re not here to discuss that. Right-to-work laws mean one thing: that non-union employees cannot be required to contribute to the cost of union representation.
The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 prohibits “closed shops”, where union membership is a condition of employment; however, union represented positions can still be required to contribute to the cost of that representation. Right-to-work laws prohibit that requirement, allowing employees in union represented positions who choose not to join the union to also choose whether or not they contribute to the union’s costs, i.e., if they pay dues or not.
I see this mistake frequently and thought folks might want to know the correct information so they don’t unintentionally perpetuate it.
Edit: updated to include link to info about at-will employment.
Even At-will employment doesn’t mean they can fire you for any reason.
The reasons in which they couldn’t are for protected classes like race, religion, etc. Though they can always just, you know, lie.
Aye, there’s the rub. If you can’t prove it was discriminatory then you’re SOL.
The great thing about bigots is most tend to be fucking stupid. Plenty of stories of people being explicitly told in writing they were being fired over something with title IX protections.
Yes, which is why you as the employee need to always have a “paper trail”. Make sure everything is written down, either on paper or electronically. After any phone call or in person meeting, make sure you follow up with an email that recaps what you discussed. BCC your personal email to make sure you retain a copy of the communications. Do not trust your employers to keep your email intact.
And never, ever, sign anything when you’re fired. Refuse any “exit interviews”; remember that anything you say can and will be held against you. No matter what your employer says, they absolutely cannot withhold your paycheck because you refuse to sign or interview when you lose your job.
It might also be worth looking up your state’s laws on recording conversations. For example, in North Carolina, you only need one person’s consent to record conversations. And since you’re a part of that conversation, your consent is all you need. So if you have to, record your “one-on-one meetings/phone calls”. But absolutely do not reveal that to your employers.
Are you saying they can’t fire a priest for being Muslim? More that is interesting. 😁
They can fire you even in the protected parts as well. Because at will places DON’T HAVE TO STATE THE REASON YOU WERE FIRED. I know plenty of people including myself who was fired even though I was supposed to be protected. But since they never stated reason for firing you then good luck proving it. At will you can fired for looking funny or manger just feels like it.
I live in shit hole states that are at will there is zero protections for employees in these states.
I live in an at will employment state and have been a manager for quite some time. I’ve never seen an employee actually terminated for their protected status race, religion, etc. It’s always been because they had poor performance and/or attendance issues and didn’t want to get better. If you aren’t a solid average then it’s develop up or out. This isn’t my POV, this is the reality of the performance conversations I’ve been involved with. Personal accountability is a major problem these days. If you have none then you won’t have a job for long. The good news is that if you’re solid in those areas then you will be valuable to your employer. This is why so many military applicants get picked up. They have a basis for attendance and completing the mission.
Having said that, I’m sure you’re correct and discrimination does happen because their employer lied. I just think that it doesn’t happen quite as often as believed. Many poor performers I’ve known have outright lied about why they were actually terminated.
I don’t think individual anecdotes are that useful here. For example, a dude I worked with reported his old boss was extremely racist and made all sorts of hiring decisions based on race and stereotypes. Is that common? You’d have to find or do some studies to find out.
That’s not even touching implicit bias and friends. Perhaps when the white guy is late it’s traffic, but when the black guy is late it’s because he’s irresponsible. That kind of thinking happens all the time, to all of us.
Pick one
I upvoted your comment for being insightful, not trying to dismiss what you’re saying. I get where you’re coming from, and I agree that what you’re saying is likely true for most businesses, but there are other people who’s reality of conversations they have been involved with resulted in being fired unfairly.
Which they do. Quite often even. Shitty employers also employ shitty behaviors like consistently giving poor performance reviews regardless of actual performance. This gives them a paper trail to fire you on a whim, and it gives them an excuse to not give raises. “Just find a better job then!”. Unfortunately these types of companies prey on the disadvantaged who typically don’t have many options or the luxury of finding something better.