If they are in some way dodging contracted benefits like severance, are in any way defaming the employee, or are trying to prevent unemployment claims, it is going to be illegal to invent cause. People really misunderstand “at will” and think it means that an employer can fire you for any reason at all. It doesn’t. It means they can fire you for no reason at all. They cannot fire you for a protected, illegal, or fake reason, and they still are going to have to honor your contract, make good on the unemployment, et cetera.
There really isn’t any difference between a “no cause”/at will termination and a layoff. Maybe some fine technical points, but for the layman it’s the same thing.
And in many states what a previous employer can say to a future employer as part of a reference check is limited – in Cali, for example, any “malicious” statements can get you in a lot of trouble. If you suspect a previous employer might be doing this, talk to a labor lawyer.
Recording and trying to go viral with these exit interviews is the wrong response if you feel you are being wronged. Sure, record it (if it is legal to do so), but definitely do not upload anything until you have talked to a labor attorney.
The interview that set this trend off literally exposed them creating fake metrics to mass-fire employees that they utterly failed at explaining in any coherent way. I think you underestimate how willing companies are to skirt labor laws based on risk/reward analysis of their potential liabilities in the off chance that they get taken to court. Social media levels the playing field and changes that risk/reward calculation.
I didn’t make any statements about whether this employer had behaved illegally, so I am not estimating anything, over or under.
I am saying that victims should first talk to labor attorneys because there is a lot more you can do. The playing field is flatter than you think. Taking this to battle-by-media should not be the first response or starting point, it should be pretty far towards the end of the war.
If they are in some way dodging contracted benefits like severance, are in any way defaming the employee, or are trying to prevent unemployment claims, it is going to be illegal to invent cause. People really misunderstand “at will” and think it means that an employer can fire you for any reason at all. It doesn’t. It means they can fire you for no reason at all. They cannot fire you for a protected, illegal, or fake reason, and they still are going to have to honor your contract, make good on the unemployment, et cetera.
There really isn’t any difference between a “no cause”/at will termination and a layoff. Maybe some fine technical points, but for the layman it’s the same thing.
And in many states what a previous employer can say to a future employer as part of a reference check is limited – in Cali, for example, any “malicious” statements can get you in a lot of trouble. If you suspect a previous employer might be doing this, talk to a labor lawyer.
Recording and trying to go viral with these exit interviews is the wrong response if you feel you are being wronged. Sure, record it (if it is legal to do so), but definitely do not upload anything until you have talked to a labor attorney.
The interview that set this trend off literally exposed them creating fake metrics to mass-fire employees that they utterly failed at explaining in any coherent way. I think you underestimate how willing companies are to skirt labor laws based on risk/reward analysis of their potential liabilities in the off chance that they get taken to court. Social media levels the playing field and changes that risk/reward calculation.
I didn’t make any statements about whether this employer had behaved illegally, so I am not estimating anything, over or under.
I am saying that victims should first talk to labor attorneys because there is a lot more you can do. The playing field is flatter than you think. Taking this to battle-by-media should not be the first response or starting point, it should be pretty far towards the end of the war.