Employee's firing for "behavior" may be cruel but is legal

Q:        My employer of nine years suddenly terminated me for what they said was "inappropriate behavior" but gave no reason as to what they "think" I did. As a manager I did everything I was supposed to, asked the right questions of my manager and the Human Resource manager, then one day I was terminated. In your column in the Boston Globe (10/09/05) you wrote that Massachusetts is an "employee-at-will" state. Can you elaborate on what this means? Can an employee be fired for any reason at all? Does an Employer have to engage in progressive disciplinary action before terminating an employee who is performing unsatisfactorily? I was just wondering if my termination is legal or not and if I had any recourse?

A:        Although it seems almost impossible to believe, employers in Massachusetts, or in any other employee-at-will state, can fire any employee at any time for any reason- or even no reason at all. An employer can terminate an employee with or without notice.

In your case, what your employer did was legal, albeit cruel, and most likely you do not have any recourse. Being an employee-at-will means working without a specified end date of employment. This allows both the employer and the company to terminate the employment relationship at any time.

Union workers are protected according to the terms of their individual contracts. "While collective bargaining agreements vary, most require that employers engage in progressive discipline for all but the most serious offenses, said Marc Greenbaum, professor of law at Suffolk University in Boston. Also, union workers can take advantage of grievance arbitration as needed.

Otherwise, the employer/ employee relationship is lopsided, clearly tilted in the employer's favor. Some more progressive try to redress this imbalance by adopting enlightened personnel practices. These practices may include employment termination guidelines such as requiring notice, progressive disciplinary action, and the opportunity for the employee to improve performance prior to being terminated. Employers who do so, benefit by developing the reputation as a fair employer, improving employee loyalty and morale, and reducing turnover.

"No one is helped when a person is fired without adequate warning", said Robert W. Murphy, the President of Human Resource Partner, "but it is legal to do it in Massachusetts and in many other states. There is no requirement for progressive discipline either, unless a company has bound itself to do so in its employee handbook or policies".

Some individuals are considered to be in a protected class, based upon age (over 40) disability, race, ethnicity, gender, and/or sexual orientation. If you are a member of one or more of these groups, and believe you were terminated because of your membership in that group, you might want to seek legal counsel.