4 ms·

> they got away with this because I am not us-citizen Uhm... most of the US is at-will employment, which means they can and do terminate people at any point in

> they got away with this because I am not us-citizen Uhm... most of the US is at-will employment, which means they can and do terminate people at any point in time with absolutely no reason necessary what so ever. There is 0 protection for employees in the US (in most cases). This is not like Europe at all where there are rules around how you can fire people and legal requirements that need to be met.

rolldat777 6y ago
(not a lawyer) Employment is at will, but there are protected classes. Just like you can not be fired due to your race / gender, disability is also protected - https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination
- curtis3389 6y ago
  Which is why they never tell you why they fire you. They just fire you or tell you that your position was eliminated in a re-organization that only affected you.
  - tptacek 6y ago
    And yet there are still thousands and thousands of employment discrimination cases every year, even though people doing the discriminating aren't saying "fuck the ADA" while they do it.
  - rolldat777 6y ago
    Yes, I'm aware, but I personally am in favor of pressing the issue. Though I don't know the details here, in some cases of first diagnosis there will be hospital admission with 72 hour mandatory holding (with limited communication). Instead, consider if someone had been fired for not communicating after being incapacitated in a severe car crash or for the ensuing months of recovery. What would your advice be in that case? What would the companies response have been? How accommodating would they be in the case of the crash?
pseudalopex 6y ago
Firing someone for no reason is legal in most states. Firing someone for the wrong reason is illegal.
- macksd 6y ago
  And being able to cite a legal reason when you're fired immediately after they learn of a disability doesn't necessarily give them a get-out-of-jail card. But it would vary from jurisdiction and the employment status here sounds complicated, so I would absolutely see a lawyer about it.
giantg2 6y ago
This isn't exactly false, but isn't the whole truth either. Your statements apply in general, but they don't cover some of the more detailed scenarios. Employers are required to reasonably accommodate people based on disabilities and medical conditions. What is reasonable is up to debate. It would also require that you can show they fired you for that issue, which can be tricky because they can always find some legitimate reason to cover their true motives. One example of this could be an alcoholic. Maybe they showed up to work drunk. If they tell their employer that they are an alcoholic, the employer has to offer to get them help before they can fire them. If they refuse help or the issues continue, then you're allowed to fire them. Now if they never told the employer about their condition, the employer could just fire them because maybe it was just a bad decision to stay out partying all night, which is not a medical condition.
- pseudalopex 6y ago
  This isn't the whole truth either. The employer isn't responsible for getting them help. But adjusting their schedule so they can get treatment might be reasonable. They don't have to say what the condition is.
  - giantg2 6y ago
    They don't have to offer you treatment, just 'help'. That could be adjusting the schedule like you said, or other things. True, you don't need to say what the condition is.
    - pseudalopex 6y ago
      Getting someone help and helping them mean different things usually.
  - PragmaticPulp 6y ago
    Most importantly: The employee must take the initiative to communicate these requirements to the employer before the firing event. It appears the OP may have waited until the termination meeting with HR to communicate the medical condition. It's not clear that the OP actually requested any accommodations or leave. In fact, it's not clear that the company denied the OP anything or had any way of knowing the OP's situation leading up to the firing event, due to the OP's admitted lack of communication with the company.

rolldat777 6y ago

(not a lawyer) Employment is at will, but there are protected classes. Just like you can not be fired due to your race / gender, disability is also protected - https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination

curtis3389 6y ago
Which is why they never tell you why they fire you. They just fire you or tell you that your position was eliminated in a re-organization that only affected you.
- tptacek 6y ago
  And yet there are still thousands and thousands of employment discrimination cases every year, even though people doing the discriminating aren't saying "fuck the ADA" while they do it.
- rolldat777 6y ago
  Yes, I'm aware, but I personally am in favor of pressing the issue. Though I don't know the details here, in some cases of first diagnosis there will be hospital admission with 72 hour mandatory holding (with limited communication). Instead, consider if someone had been fired for not communicating after being incapacitated in a severe car crash or for the ensuing months of recovery. What would your advice be in that case? What would the companies response have been? How accommodating would they be in the case of the crash?

pseudalopex 6y ago

Firing someone for no reason is legal in most states. Firing someone for the wrong reason is illegal.

macksd 6y ago
And being able to cite a legal reason when you're fired immediately after they learn of a disability doesn't necessarily give them a get-out-of-jail card. But it would vary from jurisdiction and the employment status here sounds complicated, so I would absolutely see a lawyer about it.

giantg2 6y ago

This isn't exactly false, but isn't the whole truth either. Your statements apply in general, but they don't cover some of the more detailed scenarios. Employers are required to reasonably accommodate people based on disabilities and medical conditions. What is reasonable is up to debate. It would also require that you can show they fired you for that issue, which can be tricky because they can always find some legitimate reason to cover their true motives. One example of this could be an alcoholic. Maybe they showed up to work drunk. If they tell their employer that they are an alcoholic, the employer has to offer to get them help before they can fire them. If they refuse help or the issues continue, then you're allowed to fire them. Now if they never told the employer about their condition, the employer could just fire them because maybe it was just a bad decision to stay out partying all night, which is not a medical condition.

pseudalopex 6y ago
This isn't the whole truth either. The employer isn't responsible for getting them help. But adjusting their schedule so they can get treatment might be reasonable. They don't have to say what the condition is.
- giantg2 6y ago
  They don't have to offer you treatment, just 'help'. That could be adjusting the schedule like you said, or other things. True, you don't need to say what the condition is.
  - pseudalopex 6y ago
    Getting someone help and helping them mean different things usually.
- PragmaticPulp 6y ago
  Most importantly: The employee must take the initiative to communicate these requirements to the employer before the firing event. It appears the OP may have waited until the termination meeting with HR to communicate the medical condition. It's not clear that the OP actually requested any accommodations or leave. In fact, it's not clear that the company denied the OP anything or had any way of knowing the OP's situation leading up to the firing event, due to the OP's admitted lack of communication with the company.