Is It Time To Terminate At-Will Employment Laws?

Montana remains the only state in the nation that does not have at-will employment. At-will means you can be fired for any reason or no reason at all. Boss in a bad mood? That's a firing? Doesn't like your shirt? You're outta there.  Sure, there are exceptions like discrimination and whistleblower laws, but otherwise you're at the mercy of your boss.

So why haven't American workers risen up and said it's time to terminate at-will employment?

Well, maybe they're finally starting to, thanks to SEIU. In February, New York City saw a proposed just-cause bill introduced to protect fast-food workers at the behest of SEIU. Philadelphia passed a just-cause ordinance to protect parking industry workers last week, also at the urging of SEIU.

Montana, unlike every other state, requires employers to have just cause before they fire workers. And isn't that fair? Your family's ability to buy food and pay for shelter depends on your job. Most Americans are $400 of unexpected expenses or lost wages away from financial meltdown. Montana has had this law since 1987, and businesses are still there, the economy still functions and the state hasn't exploded, despite dire warnings from naysayers to the contrary.

Under Montana's Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act, MCA 39-2-901:

(1) A discharge is wrongful only if:
(a) it was in retaliation for the employee's refusal to violate public policy or for reporting a violation of public policy;
(b) the discharge was not for good cause and the employee had completed the employer's probationary period of employment; or
(c) the employer violated the express provisions of its own written personnel policy.
(2) (a) During a probationary period of employment, the employment may be terminated at the will of either the employer or the employee on notice to the other for any reason or for no reason.
(b) If an employer does not establish a specific probationary period or provide that there is no probationary period prior to or at the time of hire, there is a probationary period of 6 months from the date of hire.

Pretty reasonable, huh? If New York and Philadelphia get the ball rolling, maybe other cities and states will follow. American workers deserve to have some stability and a regular income as long as they do their jobs.

Let's finally give notice that we're going to terminate at-will employment laws.

Your Spouse Criticizes Your Boss On Social Media: Can You Get Fired For That?

The story about Kellyanne Conway's husband criticizing her boss, President Trump, on social media made me think about an issue that arises off an on in my employment practice: whether you can be fired for something your spouse does. If you are one of my regular readers, you probably aren't surprised that the answer is: of course you can.

Unless you have a contract or collective bargaining agreement, or unless you live in Montana, you are probably an at-will employee who can be fired for any reason or no reason at all. If your spouse does something that ticks off your boss, you can be fired for that.

Fair? No. Legal? Probably.

Yes, there are some exceptions. If, for instance, your spouse is also a coworker and reports or objects to discrimination, unpaid wages, or something illegal, then retaliating against you would be illegal retaliation against your spouse. However, few laws protect employees when their spouses are not coworkers.

Even states that have laws prohibiting employers from firing employees for legal off-duty activities probably don't protect you for your spouse's off-duty activities. So, while your employer can't fire you for, say, going to a wild party, they can probably fire you for your spouse going to the same party. If your spouse posts something that ticks your boss off, then even these very broad laws probably don't protect you.

Not only do you have to be careful what you post, but you need to make sure your spouse does the same. Social media posts are forever. Your spouse and you should never post anything you don't want on the front page of the company newsletter.

States With Pro-Employee Laws: No At-Will Employment Equals Fewer Employee Suits

(Or, States That Don't Suck For Employees, Part II)

I was doing some research for this series on pro-employee state laws and ran across a piece by that bastion of liberalism, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce rating states either Good, Fair or Poor for employers. It's been a fantastic source of information for my upcoming pieces in this series, since all I have to do is look for the "Poor" rated states to find a rant about their pro-employee laws.

What I found most interesting, though, was what they wrote about Montana. Montana is notable as the only state in the nation that requires just cause for employers to terminate employees. It's the only non-at-will state, which is something I frequently mention when I write or speak about employment law. Almost as an afterthought, the U.S. Chamber says this about Montana:

The state is also among the nation’s leaders in the fewest number of labor and employment lawsuits filed per 10,000 employees.

Really? So not only did Montana not fall off the map under the weight of employee suits by employees claiming they weren't fired for just cause, but they have fewer employee suits than places like Florida that it rates "Good" for employers due to the utter lack of pro-employee laws. Here's what they say about supposedly pro-employer Florida:

Perhaps the most surprising element of Florida’s generally favorable labor and employment-law climate is its litigation problem. The state has an extraordinary number of labor and employment related lawsuits, with 5.69 such lawsuits filed per 10,000 employees. Only Alabama has a higher ratio.

Alabama, by the way, is also rated "Good" for employers.

Hmm. So states that allow employers to be jerks to employees at-will have more employee suits, and states that make employers treat employees decently have few employee suits. Coincidence? I think not. I think if you treat a person decently they're much less likely to sue you. Doctors have found that out, so when will employers learn?

Treating employees like stuff at the bottom of your shoe equals more lawsuits. Treating employees will and firing only for just cause equals fewer lawsuits.

Are any legislators listening?

9 Things Every Teen Should Know About Workplace Rights

If you're in high school or college, odds are you're looking for a summer job or internship. Maybe you're even working during the school year. Of course, your school gave you detailed preparation on what your legal rights are when you work. Right? Ha. Not a chance. Schools do roughly zip to prepare teens for the real world workplace. You have to figure this stuff out on your own.

Well, I'm here to help. I wrote last week about sexual harassment, but there's more you need to know. If you're new to the workplace or getting ready to apply for an internship, this is the article for you.

If you are the parent, relative, guardian or friend of a teen who is about to enter the workforce, do them a favor and print, tweet, email (do teens email?), text, Instagram or Pinterest this to them. (You can probably forget about Facebooking it to them since they all fled when their parents got on Facebook.)

Read my article 9 Things Every Teen Should Know About Workplace Rights to find out what your high school or college probably didn't teach you about workplace rights.

13 Things Every Teen Needs To Know About Workplace Rights

School’s out for summer! Or it will be soon, and many teens will start summer jobs or even their very first real job. Yet schools do little, if anything, to prepare teens for the realities of the workplace. I’m always shocked when I encounter teens whose parents drag them to me after they suffer workplace abuse with no idea they have any rights at all.

So, if you’re a teen entering the workplace or thinking of applying for a job, read this. If you’re a parent, friend or relative of a teen who is entering the workforce, please print this and show it to them.

Here are 13 things teens need to know about workplace rights that their school probably didn’t teach them:

1. Minimum Wage: Federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. However, there is something called the youth minimum wage, which means that for the first 90 calendar days of any new job you can be paid as little as $4.25 per hour if you are under 20. State minimum wages may be higher. Here in Florida, the minimum wage is $7.79. Tipped employees may be paid a minimum wage of $2.13/hour as long as their wages including tips equal at least the higher of the state and federal minimum wage. State minimum wages for tipped employees vary. In Florida, it’s $4.77/hour. More details about wages can be found here.

2. Hours: If you are under 16, under Federal law your work hours are limited. You can’t work during school hours at all, and you can’t work more than 3 hours on a school day, including Friday; more than 18 hours a week when school is in session; more than 8 hours a day when school is not in session; more than 40 hours a week when school is not in session; and before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. on any day, except from June 1st through Labor Day, when you can work until 9 p.m. Federal law doesn’t limit work hours for teens 16 or older, but your state laws may. For instance, Florida law says if you’re under 18 you can’t work during school hours (with exceptions), and that if you’re 16 or 17 you may only work up to 30 hours per week, not before 6:30 a.m. or later than 11 p.m. and for no more than 8 hours a day when school is scheduled the following day, and for no more than 6 consecutive days.

3. Breaks: Federal law doesn’t require any work breaks. However, many states require work breaks, especially for workers under 18. In Florida, workers under 18 are not allowed to work more than 4 consecutive hours without a 30 minute uninterrupted work break. For breaks of more than 20 minutes, employers don’t have to pay. Breaks 20 minutes and under are hours worked that need to be paid.

4. Sexual Harassment: If your boss, coworker, customer, vendor or potential boss is harassing you because of your gender or gender identity, that’s sexual harassment, and it’s illegal. This includes unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, offensive comments about men or women in general, off-color jokes, touching, and other harassment that is either so severe or so frequent that it alters the terms and conditions of your employment. A single offhand comment may not be sexual harassment, but a single incident that is severe could be. As a minor, you have added protection. Any adult sexually harassing you is probably committing a crime, and could be a sexual predator. It is really important that you read the company’s sexual harassment policy when you start working and write down where you are supposed to report it if it occurs. You don’t have to be afraid, and you should not let yourself become a victim. People you can and probably should report sexual harassment to are your Human Resources department at work and your parents. If you’ve been touched, then you may want to contact the police. If you see someone else being sexually harassed, you should report it. Harassers will keep doing it, and their behavior will get worse, unless an adult stops them.

5. Contracts: In most states, if you’re under 18 you can’t be bound by a contract, including an employment contract. You (or your parents) can void a contract you’ve signed while underage. However, once you turn 18, you probably can’t void it anymore. Employment contracts might have provisions saying you can’t work for a competitor for a year or two, waiving your right to a jury trial, confidentiality obligations, and other important clauses. If you are asked to sign a contract, always read it and keep a copy once you’ve signed. If you don’t understand it, talk to your parents or an employment lawyer in your state about it.

6. Internships: While many teens take unpaid internships for the summer, most employers get internships wrong. If your internship is not a real learning experience for you, then you probably have to be paid for the work you do. An internship is supposed to be training similar to that you would receive in a vocational school. Filing, stuffing envelopes, and answering phones should normally be paid. Internship assignments should build on each other so you develop more skills, similar to the way each chapter of a textbook builds on the other. You should be getting training that benefits you, and you should be getting more benefit than the company. If they can make money off what you're doing, or if you're saving them from having to pay another employee, you probably have to be paid.

7. At-will: If you live anywhere but Montana, your employment is probably at-will, meaning your employer can fire you for any reason or no reason at all (with some exceptions). They can fire you because they’re in a bad mood, because they didn’t like your shirt, or because you lipped off to them like you lip off to your parents. Exceptions that would make a firing illegal include firing due to discrimination, making a worker’s comp claim, and blowing the whistle on illegal activity of the company. If your boss tells you to do something that isn’t illegal (or sexual harassment), then do it. No eye-rolling, back-talk or attitude.

8. Social Media and Cell Phones: You are expected to work during work hours. That means no texting, emailing, calling, tweeting, instagraming, facebooking, downloading, or surfing at work, unless it’s work-related. If you check your texts, emails, or social media on a company computer, cell phone or other device, the company probably has the right to look at it. If you view or send inappropriate pictures, jokes, or videos, you can be fired for doing so. There is very little privacy in the workplace, and you have few rights. Assume you’re being watched at all times at work and you won’t go wrong. Oh, and remember all those party pics and embarrassing photos you posted before you started applying for work? Employers and potential employers can see them. You probably want to check your social media pages and pull down anything you can that might be inappropriate for an employer to see.

9. Human Resources: If your employer is big enough, you probably have someone who is designated as the Human Resources person or a whole department called “Human Resources.” It may be referred to as HR. This is the place to go for information about work rules, to report sexual harassment or discrimination, and you’ll probably have to go there on your first day to fill out a stack of forms. While they can be very helpful if you have questions or concerns, they aren’t your buddies. Human Resources represents your employer, not you. They aren’t your mom or your best friend, so don’t go to them with every petty complaint, confess you did something wrong, or tell them about the wild party you went to over the weekend. Keep it professional.

10. Discrimination: Discrimination against you for being you isn’t illegal. However, discrimination and harassment due to race, sex, sexual identity, national origin, disability, religion, color, pregnancy and genetic information are. In some states, there are more categories of illegal discrimination. For instance, in Florida it’s illegal to discriminate against you because you’re too young or because of marital status. Whether sexual orientation is a protected category depends on your state and local law. No federal law bars sexual orientation discrimination.

11. Bullying: While your school might have zero tolerance for bullying, your workplace may be a bullying free-for-all. No federal or state law exists that prohibits workplace bullying. However, workplace bullies are very much like school bullies: they focus on the weak and the different. If you need to complain about a bully, make sure you do it in a way that’s protected. If the bully is picking on the weak, are they weak because of a disability, pregnancy, or age? If they’re picking on the different, is the difference based on race, national origin, age, or religion? If you report illegal discrimination, the law protects you from retaliation. If you report bullying, no law protects you.

12. Dangerous Work: It is every employer’s duty to maintain a safe workplace. If you think your workplace is unsafe, you can contact the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to report dangerous conditions and get more information. Certain jobs are deemed too hazardous for teens under 18 to do. A plain English description of the 17 jobs considered too dangerous for minors is here. There’s a different list for agricultural work that applies to workers under 16.

13. What Kind Of Work You Can Do: Depending on your age, there may be limits on the type of work you can do. If you are under 14, you can work, but your options are limited. You can deliver newspapers, babysit, act or perform, work as a homeworker gathering evergreens and making evergreen wreaths, or work for a business owned by your parents as long as it’s not mining, manufacturing or one of the occupations designated as hazardous. If you are 14 or 15, you can do things like retail, lifeguarding, running errands, creative work, computer work, clean-up and yard work that doesn’t use dangerous equipment, some food service and other restaurant work, some grocery work, loading and unloading, and even do some work in sawmills and wood shops. We’re talking non-manufacturing and non-hazardous jobs only. If you are 16 or 17, you can do any job that isn’t labeled as hazardous.

The Department of Labor has a website where you can get more information about employment laws that apply to teens. An interactive advisor about federal law may be found here.

Of course, my book Stand Up For Yourself Without Getting Fired can help anyone new to the workplace since it covers how to handle workplace crises and issues from the interview and application, to your first day and that giant stack of papers, to workplace disputes, to promotions, to termination, and even post-termination.

NLRB Decision Means Delays, Not Employer Free-For-All

There has been much crowing and breaking-out-of-champagne on the management side over the recent case saying President Obama's recess appointments to the NLRB were unconstitutional.

The case applies to that one NLRB matter and that one only. Other NLRB cases that have pending appeals may get similar decisions, or they may not. Right now, NLRB is proceeding as normal, until a court rules otherwise.The Supreme Court has declined to take the issue up, so the decision won't have a wide-ranging impact yet. Business lobbyists want employers to appeal all NLRB decisions they don't like so they can benefit from the decision.

Employers may now think it's safe to fire employees for objecting to working conditions on Facebook and other social media. They may also get excited about the possibility that some of the other recent decisions on key issues may disappear. They're wrong.

As to the Facebook firing cases, the first one came down in 2011. That means the case is likely completely unaffected by the court decision, as is the NLRB’s stance that employees cannot be fired for discussing working conditions on Facebook and in other social media.

Companies who decide the law no longer applies to them do so at their own risk. The President will eventually appoint NLRB members successfully. In the meantime, the agency itself continues its investigation and decision-making process. Some recent decisions about confidentiality of investigations, at-will policies and arbitration agreements might be affected, but they might not.

What it really means is that Republican Senators who hold up the President's appointments to the Board for spite will cause cases to pile up. Staff at NLRB are still busy processing cases. Those that move up to the Board level will find that no hearings can be held. Our tax dollars are being used to backlog an agency that usually moves quickly, and whose decisions benefit both employers and employees, depending on the case. If a union engages in unfair practices, how will aggrieved employers get relief under this new genius gridlock plan? They won't, that's how. When the Board is finally back up to quorum, they'll have to work with rocket speed to catch up, meaning they'll need extra staff to help them process cases.

In the meantime, employers shouldn't celebrate too much. The Board will be back.

Why Did The Lawyer Put This In My Employment Contract?: The Termination Clause

In yet another attempt to explain the legalese that lurks in your employment contracts, today I'll talk about some of the language you might see in the contract you sign when you're first hired: the termination clause. It's something you don't really want to think about when you're all excited about a new job offer, but it's almost always in there.

You're most likely to see something like this, if not in a contract or offer letter, then in your handbook:

You agree and understand that your employment is at-will.

Your eyes probably glazed over and you didn't think about this. But the next time you are handed a contract to sign that says this, I suggest you think about it seriously. What this means is that you agree you can be terminated for any reason or no reason at all. If your new boss is in a bad mood three days after you start, even if you gave up a steady job of 5 or 10 years to take this new offer, you're out of there with no severance at all. Especially if you're moving, leaving another job, or are a hot commodity (you have an expertise, a degree, experience or something else that makes you able to pick and choose), I suggest you try to negotiate a better clause than this one.

A slightly more acceptable clause:

You agree that the Company may terminate your employment by giving 90 days' notice. If the termination is for cause, the Company may terminate your employment without notice.

 At least in this one, the company has to give you some notice, or pay out the notice period as severance. The clause might have more or less notice, depending on what you negotiated, but the notice is important. It's also important to define what "cause" for termination will be. If you leave it up to the company to determine whether or not your performance is up to par with no way to measure, then you might as well be at-will.

What's concerning about a clause like this one is sometimes people spend lots of time negotiating the length of the agreement. Say you negotiate a contract with a one year term, with automatic renewals at the end. You think you've assured you have something steady for at least a year. But this clause completely negates that one year. Whatever notice the company puts in here that they have to give, that's likely how much they'll have to pay out.

Even better would be:

This agreement may only be terminated for cause. In the event of termination for cause, the company shall give notice of the alleged cause and give you 30 days to cure the problem before termination.

You still need to worry about defining what constitutes cause, but with this clause you have a chance to fix things if the company thinks you're messing up. If they fire you for no cause, they have to pay out the rest of the contract. That's great if you have lots of time left on it, but if you don't, you might have been better off with the provision above. Still, if I have my druthers, I'll pick this one over that. At least you'll have time to prove yourself, so your move won't be a complete hardship.

If you have lots of leverage, or if the employer wants you bad enough, you might get lucky and get a clause like this:

In the event of termination, the company will pay you 6 months of severance.

Notice it says nothing about cause or no cause. With this one, it doesn't matter how much you mess up. As long as you haven't breached the contract in some way, the employer has to pay out your severance no matter the reason for termination. This kind of clause is especially good if you have a noncompete. If you have to stay out of the industry 6 months, they should pay you 6 months so you can survive. If they want you to stay out longer, you should try to negotiate a longer payout.

Even though you don't want to think about getting fired or laid off, you have to if you want to survive in this economy. If you have any leverage at all to negotiate a better contract, the termination clause is one of the most important clauses to get right.

Top Six Illegal Policies In Your Employee Handbook

Your employee handbook contains lots of policies and procedures you’re supposed to read and follow. But many handbooks contain policies the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) considers illegal. NLRB is usually thought of as the agency that regulates all things union: elections, collective bargaining agreements, and unfair labor practices, to name a few. But I bet you didn’t know that they also probably regulate your employer unless you work for the government. That’s right: whether or not your workplace is unionized, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) applies to just about every private workplace.

Many employee handbooks contain policies that violate Section 7 of the NLRA, which says: “Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, and shall also have the right to refrain from any or all such activities.” NLRB has a new web page that describes its enforcement efforts regarding concerted activities of employees.

Here are just some of the policies NLRB considers to be illegal that may well be in your handbook:

At-Will Employment: Your handbook probably says your employment is at-will. But in a recent complaint the NLRB filed against Hyatt Hotels Corporation, the NLRB found that an acknowledgement in the handbook saying that the only way to change at-will employment was by a written statement signed by the employee and a Hyatt officer was so broad that it implied that unionization was futile. The provision is probably similar to your company’s at-will policy:

I understand my employment is "at will." This means I am free to separate my employment at any time, for any reason, and Hyatt has these same rights. Nothing in this handbook is intended to change my at-will employment status. I acknowledge that no oral or written statements or representations regarding my employment can alter my at-will employment status, except for a written statement signed by me and either Hyatt's Executive Vice-President/Chief Operating Officer or Hyatt's President.

In order to retain flexibility in its policies and procedures, I understand Hyatt, in its sole discretion, can change, modify or delete guidelines, rules, policies, practices and benefits in this handbook without prior notice at any time. The sole exception to this is the at-will status of my employment, which can only be changed in a writing signed by me and either Hyatt's Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer or Hyatt's President.

Arbitration: Many employers have policies requiring employees to arbitrate disputes with the company. However, if the company policy says you are waiving your right to a class action, or if it otherwise prohibits employees from filing a NLRB complaint, NLRB says it violates the law.

No Discussion of Wages: Employers try to prohibit employees from discussing and comparing their wages. But prohibiting discussion of wages violates the NLRA. Employees must be allowed to discuss working conditions, including wages. That’s a really important right if, for example, you think you’re a victim of discrimination.

Nondisparagement: Does your company say you aren’t allowed to say negative things about the company, whether online or otherwise? Again, this probably violates your right to discuss working conditions.

Confidential Information: Most companies have a policy that you must keep confidential information confidential. But if that prohibition keeps you from sharing personnel information, revenues, expenses or training materials, it may also violate your right to discuss working conditions.

Social Media: If the company social media policy says you aren’t allowed to discuss or disparage the company in social media, that may well violate your right to complain about working conditions with coworkers. There have been a slew of cases where NLRB has recently found illegal firings due to Facebook postings and other social media issues. Policies that prohibit “offensive,” “demeaning,” or “inappropriate” comments are likely overbroad. Some states have passed laws against demanding your social media passwords, and there's federal legislation pending as well that may protect you from this type of intrusion.

So what do you do if you think your employer’s policies violate the law?

Your first step is to contact your regional office of the National Labor Relations Board. If they believe your employer is violating the law, they can talk you through filing a Charge Against Employer.

You have 6 months from the event or conduct to file. That means if your company comes out with a new policy, or if you are required to sign a form acknowledging your receipt of the handbook or agreement to the policies, you have six months from that date. You are entitled to have an attorney represent you before NLRB but you can’t recover your attorney’s fees if you win.

NLRB will investigate, which means they will interview you and you’ll have to sign an affidavit. They’ll also interview your employer and any witnesses. Then they’ll decide whether or not to issue a complaint against your employer. If they do, NLRB acts on your behalf to proceed against your employer. They will also help try to settle the case.

Unfortunately, your only remedies are reinstatement with back pay and back benefits if you were fired, plus an injunction to prohibit your employer from breaking the law in the future. NLRB might also require your employer to put up a poster advising coworkers of their rights.

The National Labor Relations Act is an under-utilized law protecting employee rights. Your employer may not understand that it applies to them. If you’ve been fired for violating one of these illegal policies, you may have a remedy.

Top Reasons Why Kick The Boss Is One of the Top Apps

My 13-year-old thought I’d want to know about a hot free app available for my iPhone: Kick the Boss. Knowing what I know about the current state of employment law, is it any wonder that an app allowing you to kick, punch, burn, stab, and flick your boss until he’s gone, and rewarding you with more powers each time you inflict pain on him is one of the most popular games in America?

No doubt about it: the hostility between worker and employer is growing by leaps and bounds. Employers consider employees disposable and treat them like the enemy. Employees no longer think of their jobs as the place they’ll work for life. They know that isn’t going to happen.

If you’re a boss who is surprised at this level of hostility, just think about what’s been going on. No wonder your employees want to kick you around in the virtual world. For employees, here are just some of the reasons why you may want to set your boss on virtual fire.

 Facebook passwords: Some companies are demanding Facebook passwords from applicants and employees. There’s no sense of any entitlement to privacy in the corporate world. They want to read your posts and even your private messages.  

Reading email: Companies read your emails if you access them at work. Some even use keylogging software to get your passwords and access your most intimate conversations. Use your work computer or work phone to check your messages? Forget privacy. Think front page of the company newsletter.  

Criminalization of employment: Employers are coming after employees and former employers with criminal charges, because ruining you financially just isn’t enough anymore. They want your freedom. It’s one thing if an employee stole or embezzled. But these new cases are meant to intimidate employees who leave and work for competitors. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and trade secrets theft are some of the ways employers are trying to criminalize employment law. If employers have their way, they’ll be able to toss you in jail if you quit. Give it another 10 years and maybe the’ll get their way.  

At-will firing: Recent cases have shown employees getting fired or disciplined after donating a kidney for their boss, because the employer didn’t like the color of employee shirts, because the employee expressed an unpopular opinion on their own time, and for teaching about discrimination. The fact that your employer can fire you because she woke up in a bad mood or got a terrible cup of coffee adds to the hostility you might be feeling about your work.  

Pensions and benefits: Employers are curtailing and playing with benefits. Pension plans get cut or eliminated; health insurance goes to the cheapest plan or is cut. When you’re fired, you lose your health insurance because we’re one of the only industrialized Western countries that ties health insurance to work.  

No free speech: You can be fired for criticizing your boss, complaining about ethics and unprofessionalism, reporting a coworker for embezzlement, and for saying anything your boss doesn’t like about politics or world affairs. Zip it if you want to keep your job.  

Unemployment discrimination: They can refuse to hire you in most states due to the fact that you’re unemployed. Quit? Good luck finding something out there.  

Credit discrimination: Lose your job and get bad credit as a result? Corporate America doesn’t want you anymore. They think if you’re poor you’ll steal from them. They don’t realize you might work harder if you really need the work.

I say go ahead and kick your boss, virtually, that is. It’s good to get out a little bit of frustration, and beats the heck out of going to jail because you took a real 2x4 up against his head. If you’re thinking about beating up the boss, please don’t.

If you’re so frustrated you are thinking about doing real violence, get the heck out of there. Start looking while you still have a job. The jerk isn’t worth your freedom.

Orange-Americans Unite: Stand Up For Yourselves!

           Did you hear the one about the 14 employees who were fired for wearing orange shirts? If you didn’t, you don’t live in the UK or Ghana or anywhere in the U.S., because the story made the international news. I think the story hit a chord with people everywhere because it was just so outrageous. You come into work one day, the boss is in a bad mood and fires you because she didn’t like your shirt that day.

            Management said they believed the shirts were a protest over working conditions, so they fired the employees involved. Some of the employees were quoted saying they didn’t intend to protest.

            What I thought was really interesting were the lawyers quoted who said, because Florida is an at-will state,  the employees could be fired for any reason. That's true some of the time. As I say in my upcoming book, employers can fire you because they didn't like your shoes that day. However I don’t agree with the assessment that these employees have no legal protection. Employees do have rights, even when they wear orange.

            I should confess at this point that I represent a group of the Orange-American employees who were fired. I won't go into all the underlying facts at this point. Let’s just say there’s more to the story.

            What I will do is discuss generally some circumstances where even Florida employees can’t be fired because their boss didn’t like their shirts:

            Religion: If the clothing has religious significance, the employer can’t fire employees for wearing it unless it can show serious concerns such as safety or security. Orange is a key color for the Protestant religion, so if the color was worn for religious reasons, firing because of wearing the shirts would be religious discrimination.

            Disability: If the clothing or color was worn due to a disability, such as a spine-adjusting device, then the employer would have to accommodate the disability unless it could show an undue hardship.

            Discrimination: If not all employees were fired for wearing orange, and the employees not fired were of a different race, age, sex, religion, national origin, etc. than the people fired, it could be discrimination.

            Concerted activity: The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which applies to most workplaces, not just unionized ones, says in Section 7: “Employees shall have the right to self-organization, . . . to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection . . . .” NLRA also makes it unlawful for an employer “to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in section 7.” Even if an employee didn’t engage in concerted activity, they are protected under the NLRA. An employer who fires them for suspicion of engaging in concerted activity is in violation of the law. The NLRB said in one case: “The discharge of 4 employees . . .because of [the employer’s] belief, albeit mistaken, that the[y] had engaged in protected concerted activities is an unfair labor practice which goes to the very heart of the Act”

            There have been lots of cases where firing employees because management didn’t like their shirt were found to be unlawful: where AT&T workers wore shirts that said “Inmate #” on the front and on the back said “Prisoner of AT$T”; where employees wore shirts protesting the use of retirees to bust unions and some employees wore shirts saying, “Union ‘til I retire, then scab in!” and “When I retire I will not scab. I will go fishing”; where employees wore shirts with the employer’s logo, cracked, saying, “I survived the Midstate Strike of 1971-1975-1979”; and many more. In each case, the employees’ shirts were concerted activity protected under the NLRA.

            I won’t comment on which of these circumstances apply to my Orange-American clients’ cases – at least, not yet. But I will say this: it could happen to you. We’re all Orange-Americans. Every American who works for a living and can be fired, from the janitor to the CEO. Every American who thinks our jobs shouldn’t be yanked away without good reason. Every American who wants to complain about working conditions but is afraid. Every American who can lose not only their jobs, but their health insurance, for any reason or no reason at all. Every American who can be fired for wearing a color their boss doesn’t like, and can then be told they aren’t allowed to work in their chosen profession for a year or two.

            American workers do have rights, even in Florida; you just don’t have many. But you do have some rights, if only you know how to exercise them. You also have the right to vote, and to petition your representatives to change the law. In this economy, shouldn’t an employer have more reason than an intense dislike of the color orange to fire you?

            Orange-Americans unite: stand up for yourselves!