Page 6 - Microsoft Word - Updated Book Draft 2 23 2017 (1)
P. 6
Myth: the law requires warnings, or “progressive
discipline” before terminating an employee for a minor
or moderate transgression.
Truth: in states like Massachusetts that are
“employment at-will” states, if you do not have a
contract that says otherwise, an employee can be fired for
a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all, so long
as the termination is not discriminatory or done in
retaliation for the employee exercising a legally protected
right.
Half-Truth: being in an “at-will” state protects an
employer from lawsuits for firing an employee. My
colleague in all likelihood did not violate any law in his
handling of the termination, but was still correct that he
may have opened himself up to a lawsuit. Why?
Because (i) discrimination and retaliation are not difficult
2| Rules of the Road
