5 ms·

Another reminder of how brutal employment law in the US is. Hard to believe that it's legal for a company to act in that way.

by polemic 14y ago

chiph 14y ago
23 states (+/-) have Right-To-Work laws, meaning that either party can fire the other at any time without notice. As Jack Welch of General Electric put it: "You got paid on Friday, therefore we're even." As I put it: "You paid me for the work I did, therefore we're even."
- nmcfarl 14y ago
  The main difference here is he didn't get fired, so no unemployment. Basically they talked him out of 2 weeks wages, as at the time he thought they had the power to just move his resignation date.
- rprasad 14y ago
  That's not what a right-to-work law is. Right to work laws are related to union workforces; they allow non-union employees to work in otherwise unionized workforces without requiring them to join the union (and thus be forced to pay union dues as a de facto condition of employment). You actually refer to at-will labor laws, which describe the laws of all 50 states in the U.S. "At will" means that either party can terminate the employment agreement at any time, without notice, unless notice is first required by the terms of the employment agreement. 2 weeks is the standard notice required in most employment agreements that require notice, but 2 weeks notice is not required in most situations. It's simply the polite thing to do if you don't want to burn bridges. (I've worked with many people who gave more than 2 weeks notice, and a few who left the same afternoon they gave notice.)
  - chiph 14y ago
    You're right - I got the term wrong. I shouldn't be posting that early on a weekend. So embarrassed...
kelnos 14y ago
Brutal? I think it's incredibly fair. I'm being paid to do a job. If I don't want to do that job anymore, I leave whenever I want. If they don't want me to do that job anymore, or are unhappy with how I'm doing it, they tell me to leave whenever they want. The lack of crazy-ass employment laws is one thing in a long list of reasons why startups tend to thrive in the US more than in other countries.

Another reminder of how brutal employment law in the US is. Hard to believe that it's legal for a company to act in that way.

by polemic 14y ago

Another reminder of how brutal employment law in the US is. Hard to believe that it's legal for a company to act in that way.

chiph 14y ago

23 states (+/-) have Right-To-Work laws, meaning that either party can fire the other at any time without notice. As Jack Welch of General Electric put it: "You got paid on Friday, therefore we're even." As I put it: "You paid me for the work I did, therefore we're even."

nmcfarl 14y ago
The main difference here is he didn't get fired, so no unemployment. Basically they talked him out of 2 weeks wages, as at the time he thought they had the power to just move his resignation date.
rprasad 14y ago
That's not what a right-to-work law is. Right to work laws are related to union workforces; they allow non-union employees to work in otherwise unionized workforces without requiring them to join the union (and thus be forced to pay union dues as a de facto condition of employment). You actually refer to at-will labor laws, which describe the laws of all 50 states in the U.S. "At will" means that either party can terminate the employment agreement at any time, without notice, unless notice is first required by the terms of the employment agreement. 2 weeks is the standard notice required in most employment agreements that require notice, but 2 weeks notice is not required in most situations. It's simply the polite thing to do if you don't want to burn bridges. (I've worked with many people who gave more than 2 weeks notice, and a few who left the same afternoon they gave notice.)
- chiph 14y ago
  You're right - I got the term wrong. I shouldn't be posting that early on a weekend. So embarrassed...

kelnos 14y ago

Brutal? I think it's incredibly fair. I'm being paid to do a job. If I don't want to do that job anymore, I leave whenever I want. If they don't want me to do that job anymore, or are unhappy with how I'm doing it, they tell me to leave whenever they want. The lack of crazy-ass employment laws is one thing in a long list of reasons why startups tend to thrive in the US more than in other countries.