The Problem

Right now you're probably thinking about why you should sign this petition right? There are already Laws in place to stop discrimination etc right...

Any of this sound familiar?  Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the Family And Medical Leave Act of 1993?

Have you heard this one before?

 "One Team", "One-Vision" ....

Let's face it wrongful termination lawsuits are on the rise and not just because of Discrimination or Sexual Harassment, but because the sad reality is that anyone that is not covered under the aforementioned Acts/Laws is left vulnerable to termination abuses.

Like you, the average worker strives to do their best in their Career every day, only to have this cut short by termination notices with little to no context in which managers deliver termination communication: ambiguous statements, such as "If it was up to me, you'd still be working here," or "It looks as though we most likely won't be able to keep you on,"  or "It just wasn't a good fit". with often no official attempt at course correction, coaching by management or any semblance of closure.

Let's face it there are some bad apples out there and sometimes things just happen. Sometimes the causes are justified for termination however, in most cases the reasons that your employer can give can be anything or for any reason, not just workplace policy violation if it falls outside of these existing Laws:

1. Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990
2. The Civil Rights Act of 1991
3. The Family And Medical Leave Act of 1993?

 

Yes, your Boss/Manager/Business can still decide to let you go for any reason outside of these well known Laws unless you have a Contract stating otherwise or are part of a Union.

The sad reality of this is that this leaves many workers without legal protection or provisions that discourage such behavior/practices by employers.

 

This is literally the State of Corporate America today

Boss doesn't like you? Fired. You don't get along with the guy everyone likes? Fired. You're perceived to not be a "Team Player" Fired. Find a Social media post (Joke, Meme, Politics, Religion) someone doesn't like? Super Fired! And unless you fall in one of the "Protected" Categories, you're out of luck.

Is this really the American Dream? That a worker can be let go because they support a Hockey team the owner doesn't like? Or Because the Owner didn't like the dish you brought to the potluck?

 

The Cause

 "At-Will" Employment does not empower the worker, it empowers Business to Terminate said employee without "Cause". Cause is important because without it, a Business can let you go for supporting a "Hockey" team they don't like! Good luck in obtaining useful information during an exit interview. How does this help an Employee improve or better themselves? Or better yet, how does this incentivize a Business to empower their worker to do better if they are not meeting expectations?

 

At will employment can lead to some rather hasty decision making and abuses of power unfortunately, because once the decision has been made, they don't have to provide you reason. Hence "At Will".

While Corporations, should maintain their right to hire any Employee they so choose, and let go the "Bad Workers", the existing Laws breed toxic Corporate culture, as the work environment becomes a lifetime of "Walking on Eggshells" with that employer more than it becomes a Career journey of  learning, development, and coaching.  Obviously if everyone in the workplace is worried about being "Next" then we're not focused on our passions and skill-sets.

My Goal along with this petition is to get the Laws changed in all 52 States concerning "At Will" Employment. If Employment is to be "At-Will" what is to stop frivolous abuse of this Law?

 

1. Draft and pass a bill which could be known as the, "Workplace Fairness Doctrine".

2. Require every employer to provide documented "cause" regardless of race, gender, national, ethic, religious or political identity/affiliation/beliefs, hobbies, Social media posts (Especially this one) or for any reason other than stated previously.

3. Make it illegal for employers to violate their own Corporate Policies and codes of conduct that they make their employees sign and abide by.

4. Require all employers to counsel, coach and develop their staff rather than immediately firing them. If the problems continue after a period of time, then Termination is justified.

            A. There is literally more effort put into the development of an athletic team for a season, than most Employers put into their staff in a lifetime.

 

To date, it is not illegal for a Business to have everyone sign and agree to a code of ethics and workplace policies, but not follow or uphold them when breached. Even if this is against the Employee following those rules.

 

Example: Jack and Jill are excellent employees. Too good in fact , and this is causing issues as others think they should have the opportunity Jack/Jill do however, these people have not proven themselves as these two individuals have.  Jack one day has a very negative encounter with his co-worker and reports it to HR, as Jack has tried unsuccessfully in the past to resolve the disagreement with said co-worker. Jack is fired shortly after reporting the issue. Jill is surprised at what has transpired and questions the decision afterwards to her superiors. Shortly after this, Jill is also fired unbeknownst to either party. This scenario could easily change to something like: Jack wore his favorite sports team jersey to a company event, and finds that his Boss likes the Opposite team. Suddenly Jack is not working there anymore. Surprise?

 

Even though Jack followed HR Policy and "Code of conduct" policies, because the business did not like Jack, they fired Jack to resolve the workplace dispute, taking the path of least resistance that "At Will" employment allows the employer.

Jill was perceived as being disloyal even though Jill had logged several complaints regarding her Supervisors abusive behavior to HR and HR's policy clearly states there is to be no retaliation against those who submit concerns to HR, they've been terminated anyway, regardless of the promises of protection the policy offers. Jill's supervisor should actually be the one "Fired" here for violating workplace policy, but because "At-Will" employment does not classify this policy violation as "Illegal", the abuse is upheld.

Because of  "At-Will" Employment,  we find this scenario likely to repeat itself constantly because they can fire both of these individuals for "Any reason" instead of taking ownership of the workplace concerns and actually doing something about it, we have two highly skilled individuals unemployed and not in the workforce.

 

Is this fair? NO! Is this ethical? No. Does this benefit society? Is this Legal? Yes

 

Let's change that!!