Does an employer has the right to fire someone without facts (i.e. hearsay from a manager without proof)?

Question

There is a friend of mine who was told that she could transferer to a different store. Today b/c of a manger telling the D.M. nothing but hearsay they were denyed being transfered. The other store manager was told that if they hire her back that they would lose their job aswell. Does an employeer have this right to pass judgement without the facts or a third party imput?

Answer 1

The basic rule in most states is that employment is "at will," meaning that the employer can fire someone for any reason, for no reason, for a bad or mistaken reason, etc. There are a few broad exceptions, such as that the employer cannot fire someone because of race, gender, national origin, and certain other categories. In most places they also cannot fire people in retaliation for standing up for their legitimate employment rights (for example, demanding payment for underpaid wages) or for whistle-blowing.

Telling someone they can transfer to another store, then telling them they cannot, does not sound like one of those forbidden categories.

Employment laws vary from state to state, and are also affected by any employment contracts, union agreements, and so on. And there are plenty of exceptions.

If in doubt it is best to ask a lawyer directly. Some lawyers will give a free initial consultation. Otherwise there are sometimes free legal clinics run by schools, or offices run by state and city government to help out employees who think they have been treated illegally.

Answer 2

Depends on where you live, In the US some states have right to work laws, which means a person can be fired for any reason or no reason ( as long as it is not for a protected class)

Answer 3

It depends on where you work. In a Right to Work State, such a Florida, workers have very little rights and generally aren't entitled to Union Protection. Generally, an employer can fire you for anything, except racial, gender, etc.... reasons

Answer 4

It sounds more like high school management to me. I would dig a little further on this. You have more rights that you realize even in a right to work like Florida. Of course I have heard of crap like this, but its been gotten away with due to people not complaining. In a professional office I would have any managers head that pulled that type of crap.

Answer 5

They absolutely have no right to do it but your friend also needs to find out whether or not there was an opening at the other location. This DM is completely wrong.

Answer 6

This all depends what state your in.. If your in a at will state they can be fired for no reason what so ever

Answer 7

It depends upon what state this occured in. Different states have different rules. You need to check with the state in which this occured.