I think that ought to be illegal and IMO, the punishment should be even higher. But it's a different matter from the right to fire anyone for any reason. Given

I think that ought to be illegal and IMO, the punishment should be even higher. But it's a different matter from the right to fire anyone for any reason. Given a fair environment, being fired can be an advantage to the employee. Imagine working for a company for 10 years where the employer secretly hates your guts due to personal reasons and you are never promoted, never given a raise, etc... but they didn't fire you because they couldn't find a good reason and were concerned about legal repercussions. Isn't that horrible that you wasted 10 years and could have been earning 2x more at a different company?