labor experts: what constitutes wrongful termination?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Right to work laws have to do with opting out of unions.

And unions protect workers from being summarily dismissed.

Like REALLY bad teachers, re: NYC...

[Anonymous]

I came across this thread and, based on the responses, wondered if there is any recourse at all for someone who was arbitrarily fired, really for no reason? I have an acquaintance that I interacted with professionally who, after a decade in her job with no complaints about her work whatsoever, was called into a manager's office and told she was no longer "a good fit" for the company and fired without any warning or severence. Her coworkers were shocked because this was someone who always pulled long hours without complaint and was very competent. This happened after an upper management change. She was replaced by a younger, less experienced person from the outside. It sounds from this thread that unless this fit into a pattern of gender or racial or some other discrimination, employers have the right to fire people completely without warning and without any mention of any concerns about their work. Is that true? This person is a true professional and would be the last person I'd expect to be even laid off, much less fired. It would make ME feel better if she could at least file some kind of Dept of Labor complaint or do something to at least inconvenience the company, after the trouble they dumped on her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I came across this thread and, based on the responses, wondered if there is any recourse at all for someone who was arbitrarily fired, really for no reason? I have an acquaintance that I interacted with professionally who, after a decade in her job with no complaints about her work whatsoever, was called into a manager's office and told she was no longer "a good fit" for the company and fired without any warning or severence. Her coworkers were shocked because this was someone who always pulled long hours without complaint and was very competent. This happened after an upper management change. She was replaced by a younger, less experienced person from the outside. It sounds from this thread that unless this fit into a pattern of gender or racial or some other discrimination, employers have the right to fire people completely without warning and without any mention of any concerns about their work. Is that true? This person is a true professional and would be the last person I'd expect to be even laid off, much less fired. It would make ME feel better if she could at least file some kind of Dept of Labor complaint or do something to at least inconvenience the company, after the trouble they dumped on her.

You do not have to have a reason to terminate an employee. IMO you should because I think it is the best way to treat someone (give them closure) but the law doesn't require one. The exception could be if the person has a legitimate employment contract and even then you can generally terminate the employee, but you may have to pay out the remainder of the contract.

Your friend is better served focusing on new employment rather than trying to file baseless claims. Also, I would encourage you not to engage in speculation with this indivual about their termination. Unless you were in her management chain you do not know the whole story and what your aquaintance is not telling you.