Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Manx
And we're supposed to take your word for it that the comments would negatively impact your business? Sounds like the perfect excuse to fire anyone at anytime for any reason - and then blame it on something they said while on vacation in Bermuda.
In reality, employers typically cannot simply fire someone without a good deal of documentary evidence of malfeasance or budgetary issues. "Something they said" is only rarely going to a defensible explanation (such as your Boy Scouts/NAMBLA example and, obviously, trade secret dissemination).
Why? Because employees have rights of protection against improper treatment by employers.
You're a lawyer, right? You should know all about it.
|
Ever hear of "right to work" and "at will" employment? In reality, in "at will" states, an employer can indeed fire anybody at any time for no reason unless there's a valid employment contract in place. The only way documentation comes into play is if the firing was in violation of federal or state statute, as examples in situations where Title 7 is implicated, or as retaliation for statutorily-protected "whistleblowing". "For cause" determinations in termination will come into play for things like unemployment insurance (was the termination the fault of the employee or not will determine what benefits are applicable), but it will not get them their job back nor give them a successful cause of action against the employer.
As for invoking RICO, in order to qualify there has to be a pattern of ILLEGAL acts within a statutorily defined time period. Firing somebody in an "at will" state isn't an illegal act.