Well, in the case of firing people, generally there is no legal requirement in the US to provide a reason. I know this story isn't about the US though. It can actually hurt you to do so if it can be construed to be an illegal reason (discrimination).
While this is legally true, in practicality all companies will give a reason for being fired in the US precisely because, if the employee does bring a suit alleging discrimination, "just because" isn't a reason that's likely to pass muster with a jury.
Just about everywhere in the US, people can be fired without any reason at all. It is up to someone who is fired to show that they were fired for a reason that is illegal.
Here in Canada you require a cause (under most contracts) and this would be a disaster for the company if the employee took legal action. I guess in some states you can fire people without cause?
Firing someone isn't asking a court to do something. Companies can fire you for all sorts of silly reasons and most of them aren't illegal. The employee is accusing the company of firing them for one of the illegal reasons.
Well you know how that goes. It's not like that has stopped companies from firing people in the past. This is an "at will" employment state, so if they really wanted to fire people they could've made any excuse up and fire them. Actually, they wouldn't even need to make anything up.
In most of the US, you just walk into an employee's office and tell them they are fired. If you tell them a reason that is discriminatory, prepare to be sued, but most of the time you are not required to give them any reason at all.
Yes and no. In theory, they don't need a reason. In practice, they're concerned about lawsuits, politics, and unemployment insurance.
First of all, if you sue (and you can for a number of reasons), that means litigation, even if frivolous. Secondly, most orgs don't like giving person(s) the power to fire for no reason (politics / abuse potential). Finally, unemployment insurance is a big cost; if you get "fired for cause" their rates don't go up (this systems a joke, but that's a story for another day)
So, contrary to what you might think, and people will claim on the internet, it can practically be quite hard to fire someone. You just can't sue because you got fired fired for no reason, just for other stuff (eg. discrimination)
It is easier to give such feedback, as long as the reasons for firing are lawful, the company can request summary judgement. I honestly would think that a firing for no reason would be more likely to spark a lawsuit that actually goes all the way to a jury (or at least through the discovery process), than a firing where lawful reasons are given.
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