Pro – Hiring and Firing Without Government Involvement

Pro – Hiring and Firing without Government Involvement

Anthony L. Pinnell

Embry-Riddle Aeronautic University

Pro – Hiring and Firing without Government Involvement

At-will employment is a working condition that all employers should be able to exercise. At-will employment is an agreement between an employer and employee, which allows either of them the ability to sever a working relationship at any time without legal repercussions. (Guerin, 2014).  Employees are still protected by other laws though. The EEOC, or Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, helps protect groups against discrimination in both the hiring and the firing process. Protected groups include: Age, Disability, Equal pay, Genetic Information, Harassment, National Origin, Pregnancy, Race, Religion, Retaliation, Sex, and Sexual Harassment. (EEOC.gov, 2014) So as long as the employer is not violating any of these conditions, they should have the right to hire and fire who they wish.

Being involved with a union makes it more difficult to fire employees because the “Just Cause” requirements that are placed on businesses.  Unionization is a working condition that uses a delegate from the union to represent the workers. Some states have opted to be “right to work” states which allows an employee the choice to decide for themselves whether or not to join or financially support a union. (Nrtw.org, 2014) There are also states that are considered forced-unionism, which require the payment of union dues. If a worker in a forced union state fails to pay their dues or gets behind in their payment, they can demand that the employee be fired, and according to their contract, the company must comply. This makes it easier for a union delegate to fire an employee than it is for an employer. (City-data.com, 2014) In a union environment, an employer is unable to fire an employee unless there has been “just cause” like fighting or stealing. An employee must be disciplined in an attempt to improve their behavior. After multiple disciplinary actions for the same bad behavior, they can be fired. The union delegate will step in at this point and try to do what is in the best interest of the worker and lobby on behalf of the employee. If this is unsuccessful, this whole process may involve a third party mediator, or arbitrator. (Canmybossdothat.com, 2014)