Employers do not need a reason to fire you??

[StephanieL]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? North Carolina
I have just been reading some of the post on here....One thing that I was shocked to read was that....Employers can fire you for anything...or nothing....They do not like you...That is sad....We should be able to go to work and do our job and not have to worry about getting fired, because so and so does not like the way you look, or does not like your personality....Whatever happened to the good old days when you went to work and did your job to your best ability and you got a paycheck for that....not harrassment...Please explain to me, why Employers don't have to have a reason....and why we don't have any rights whatsoever!!!!...Thank you for any input that you can give me....

 

[CraigFL]

What you are talking about is the term "at will" employment. What you have to remember is that it works both ways-- you also have the right to quit without notice too-- so you do have power! As an employer, I need to keep you happy also because it will be trouble for me if my employees keep walking out without notice.

And you also need to know that "at will" doesn't pertain to employees with contracts like union workers because they usually work out special terms.

 

[cbg]

Employees have plenty of rights. It's just that one of them is not guaranteed employment.

 

[melissa1973]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? North Carolina
I have just been reading some of the post on here....One thing that I was shocked to read was that....Employers can fire you for anything...or nothing....They do not like you...That is sad....We should be able to go to work and do our job and not have to worry about getting fired, because so and so does not like the way you look, or does not like your personality....Whatever happened to the good old days when you went to work and did your job to your best ability and you got a paycheck for that....not harrassment...Please explain to me, why Employers don't have to have a reason....and why we don't have any rights whatsoever!!!!...Thank you for any input that you can give me....

I was looking at this this morning...
http://business-law.lawyers.com/small-business-law/Wrongful-Termination.html
Wrongful Termination - Lawyers.com

 

[justalayman]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? North Carolina
I have just been reading some of the post on here....One thing that I was shocked to read was that....Employers can fire you for anything...or nothing....They do not like you...That is sad....We should be able to go to work and do our job and not have to worry about getting fired, because so and so does not like the way you look, or does not like your personality....Whatever happened to the good old days when you went to work and did your job to your best ability and you got a paycheck for that....not harrassment...Please explain to me, why Employers don't have to have a reason....and why we don't have any rights whatsoever!!!!...Thank you for any input that you can give me....

well, that is just one of the reasons unions were, and are, so important and why they became so powerful: people were tired of not being given any respect and were simply treated like crap. I do not want to get into the good and evils of unions but simply saying: unions would not have existed if employees were given due respect and valuation.

 

[HomeGuru]

And in this day and age of economic turmoil, unions are weak.

 

[CraigFL]

My opinion is that most employees are unaware of the legal aspects of the employer-employee relationship. They only find out this item when they have been terminated so their anger clouds the complete story. At-Will employment is a good thing for the employee also. Being able to walk out at 8:01AM when you started at 8:00AM may be the right decision for you and with no legal implications. Because employers are more legal smart than most employees, they tend to exercise their rights more often.

 

[HomeGuru]

That gives new meaning to the term "fire at will"

 

[justalayman]

And in this day and age of economic turmoil, unions are weak.

more due to the lack of members than the economic problems. Walmart is the perfect example of where a union is really needed. They have been sued by the federal government over labor issues several times for activities on a large scale. One can only guess how many violations there are to individuals that are never reported for fear of repercussions.

 

[commentator]

Actually, there were no freaking Good Old Days in regard to employment in this country! Before we had this many legal rights as employees and employers, we had less. Rockefeller, Carnegie and all those railroad magnates used to use threat of firing and work shut downs to quell the employees who were demanding safer working conditions and better pay and hours. They could literally starve you out. It's as good as it is going to get unless we really start looking at things differently!

 

[justalayman]

hey, that's better than Ford. They just beat you to death (River Rouge plant)