This story shows how employees are screwn in a right-to-work,” “at will employment” state.

[raccoon]

About ten years ago, in a small public library in a red state, the director left and a new director was hired. I’ll call her “Cruella.” Cruella was a textbook work bully, but the hiring committee (I suppose) didn’t know that.

Cruella bullied a full-time worker who had been with the library for about ten years into a nervous breakdown. This worker had had depressive episodes before, but she had been doing well until Cruella took the helm.

After the woman was fired, the library board finally got their heads out of their asses woke up and had a review of Cruella, asking for input from the library staff about her. Sad to say, many were too cowed to do so; but some sure gave them input.

The library board decided that Cruella couldn’t fire any other employees WITHOUT THEIR PRIOR AGREEMENT.

And that’s exactly how it should be. No employee who’s paid by the taxpayers should be able to unilaterally fire people just for the hell of it.

Some of you in states which historically had strong unions may find this hard to believe. Some of you may be saying the terminated employee should have gotten a lawyer. I heard she did, but as far as I know nothing every came of it. I doubt it did. Just as I said in the thread title, in states like this one, employees are basically screwn, the vast majority of the time.

[kctim]

1. What was she fired for?

[raccoon]

4. She'd used up all her leave. Cruella wrote her a letter saying if

they hadn't heard from her by 2 days from the date of the letter, she would be considered to have abandoned her post.

[Brickbat]

2. One small thing: right-to-work =/= "at-will employment."

In a right-to-work (known in this house as right-to-scab) state, you are not required to join the union in order to work in at a union company.

At-will employment means an employer can dismiss you at any time for any lawful reason.

[raccoon]

5. If you mean those terms aren't equal, I realize that. But both terms mean

employees are pretty much screwn.

[laughingliberal]

3. Every state I've lived in is a right to work state and they need no reason to fire you

As long as it's not in violation of federal law (which would be firing someone for a reason that violates civil rights protections), they can fire anyone for any reason or no reason. It's hell.

[closeupready]

6. This is why it's important for people document everything themselves.

I had a friend ask me about problems he was having at work, and I told him, document every thing - when you come in, when you leave, when you burp.

I am not a lawyer, but as I understand it, such documentation strengthens any eventual case you may legitimately have. It can be hard to maintain, but it's well worth it, if you have any reason whatsoever to feel that you may need it - for example, if there's a history of unfair terminations or a history of discriminatory discharges/disciplinary punishment, for example, on the basis of age or religion or whatever. You may not even realize the discrimination is happening until after you've been terminated - you may go back to your documentation, review it and realize only THEN that something unfair was going on.