... about getting fired.

Ever heard the term "at-will employee?"

It's a frightening aspect of our modern working culture that's been nagging away at the back of my mind since I signed a contract stating that I was one some years ago. I've since left the job but the idea sits ill at ease with me.

The basic tenets of the law state that:

"any hiring is presumed to be "at will"; that is, the employer is free to discharge individuals "for good cause, or bad cause, or no cause at all," and the employee is equally free to quit, strike, or otherwise cease work."
(Mark A. Rothstein, Andria S. Knapp & Lance Liebman, Cases and Materials on Employment Law (New York: Foundation Press, 1987), 738.)

While I fully respect the idea of striking, quitting, and all that jazz, am I the only one who finds the words "good cause, bad cause, or no cause at all" just a little tyrannical?

Well, let's try and see it from both sides. Legal and financial reasoning springs to mind in defense of the employer. If every employee discharge could be argued in court (likely costing quite a lot of money in legal fees), employers would be afraid to fire disruptive or belligerent employees for fear of being taken to the cleaners in court. Not to mention that a clever but malicious employee could disrupt or bring harm to their place of employment by finding loopholes in their contract and would then be legally unfireable.

However, on the side of employees (which I tend to lean) this means that your boss can fire you for WHATEVER reason that they seem fit. You talk too lout? You're fired. You look at them funny? You're fired. You smoke on your breaks? You're fired. You smoke at home? You're fired (Authors note: those last two were in reference to a show called Boston Legal, one of my favorites, I may bring it up again.) The repercussions of this precedent are terrifying in a very real sense for anyone who's had a part time ob with a boss they didn't like.

Fortunately there are some limits to the basic elements of the law. Firing someone in a manner that breaks a law is illegal almost across the board (exceptions mostly being on the east coast). Various states have various exceptions, limiting the resons for termination. There are also federal exceptions blocking employers from fireing based on sex, race, religion, etc (for a better list follow this link, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At-will_employee#Statutory_exceptions).

Perhaps my fears are unfounded or exagerated by my Orwellian scepticism of government. I do, however see how this can be abused. on the other hand, what can't?

According to Thomas Jefferson (supposedly) "The cost of freedom is eternal vigialence." If that is the case then my scepticism is healthy regardless of how well founded it is. I think we must keep a watchful eye on every right in the troubled times, lest they slip away.