General Questions About Employment Law
Q. Can my employer fire me without having a good reason?
A. In Utah, as in the rest of the United States, employment is considered a contract between you and your employer. Most employees do not have a written contract or a union agreement that governs the particulars of the employment agreement and are thus considered employees at will. Generally speaking employment at will means that an employer can terminate an employee for any reason or no reason, just not an unlawful reason. See discussion of "at will employment" below.
Q. What is "at will" employment?
A. Employment at will has evolved over time from the old rule centuries ago that employment was for a full year, unless the employer and employee had a specific understanding that the employment was for a different period. This has changed over time to the point that now in Utah as in most States, the law presumes that the employment is "at will." In other words, employment is at the will of either party. As long as both parties want the job to continue, it will. Either party, employer or employee, can terminate the job at any time, at will.
So, unless there is a specific agreement to the contrary, an employee is not guaranteed that the job will last for any specific period of time. An employer can fire or terminate an employee at any time and for any reason, except that an employer may not terminate an at will employee for an unlawful reason. Some unlawful reasons would be termination based on discriminatory bases, such as because of race, creed, color, national origin, religion and some others. Age also has a certain amount of protection, however, this is limited protection. Likewise, an employer may not terminate an at will employee's employment in violation of an established public policy. Public policy violations are not specific and are continuing to evolve in Utah. A termination in violation of the law would give an employee a basis for suing the employer for wrongful discharge. The basic rule is that an employer may terminate an employee for any reason, no reason, but, not for an illegal reason.
Q. What is "wrongful discharge?"
A. Wrongful discharge is when an employee is terminated from employment for wrong or illegal reasons. Sometimes wrongful discharge is when an employee is terminated in a wrong way, such as when an employer does not follow its own policies and procedures, such as failing to give a promised fair hearing, or failing to follow an established progressive disciplinary procedure.
An employee that is fired for an illegal reason, such as because of the employee's race, sex, religion, national origin, and other discriminatory reasons may have been wrongfully discharged. Similarly termination as a result of resisting sexual advances from a supervisor, or for refusing illegal conduct or for exercising certain protected activities would be wrongful discharge. There are many other types of wrongful discharge grounds. If there is a question whether or not you have been fired wrongfully, contact us and we'll be more than happy to review all of the facts and let you know whether you have a claim for wrongful discharge or not.
One other area that needs to be discussed briefly is the area of employment termination only for good cause. This type of employment is rare, but, this type of employment gives a certain amount of protection so that an employee can only be fired if there is reasonable justification by the employer, such as continued absences or tardiness by the employee. Again, if there is any question, contact us and we'll be more than happy to review the facts with you.
Q. Is all discrimination illegal?
A. No. As a practical matter, an employer makes choices about employees all the time. For example, who to hire, who to promote, who to fire, who and what raises to give. Many of these choices are rational, many are not. Whether a choice is a good one or a bad one, it is a form of discrimination. Some discrimination is legal and some discrimination is illegal. Sometimes discrimination is required, such as to avoid a claim of negligent hiring of an unqualified employee. Sometimes discrimination is illegal. This is where a full discussion and review of the facts with us will be helpful.
Discrimination that is based on an employee's protected characteristics or activities is illegal. This would include use of reasons such as race, sex, religion, etc. to make employment decisions.
Q. Is all harassment illegal?
A. Harassment is also dependent upon the motivation for it. For example, it is illegal to harass because of the employee's protected characteristics, race, sex, religion, etc.
Harassment in the work place is protected if the harassment creates a hostile work environment. For example, if the harassment is sexually based, overtures, propositions, touching, etc. the law protects the employee. Employers are required to protect employees from such conduct at the work place from any one. It is especially egregious if such conduct comes from an employee's supervisor or boss.
If an employee has an unpleasant boss or supervisor, this does not necessarily mean that an employer is guilty of illegal harassment. Employers can be unfair and even can act against their own interest, they just can't act illegally.
In a nutshell, harassment generally refers to hostility or abuse of employees while on the job, while discrimination usually refers to getting or not getting a job or a promotion, raise, etc.
This site provides some free information about Utah employment laws; the rules are so complicated that the information, out of necessity, is not complete. The specifics of each case need to be taken into consideration before being able to determine the legal rights of a claimant. Therefore, this site does not mean that an attorney-client relationship is created. If you would like us to review your particular circumstances, please contact us or send us your Employment Questionnaire .
DISCLAIMER
Although we strive to provide the most accurate information possible in these web pages, every case is different so the information may not apply to your particular set of facts. This site is merely a resource for further inquiry. NO LEGAL SERVICES ARE BEING PROVIDED. Your inquiry and any response we may provide does not create an attorney-client relationship.