Big Sarge Update

[glatt]

My employer says we are "at will" so it must also be the rule here in DC. They clearly state that they can fire you and give no reason.

In practice, you need a reason to fire someone, or they can sue you and make some shit up about you discriminating against them in one of the federally protected areas. The District even has a special law that says you can't fire someone based on how they look.

So when we want to fire someone, we need to have documented reasons in their file. They have to be doing a demonstrably bad job. In theory, we don't need any of that, but in practice it's to cover our butts.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by glatt

snip--

So when we want to fire someone, we need to have documented reasons in their file. They have to be doing a demonstrably bad job. In theory, we don't need any of that, but in practice it's to cover our butts.

I have been on both sides of this process. I've been part of the company that accumulated documentation that was forwarded and stored in the soon-to-be-terminated employee, and I've had my "performance review" in my personnel file "cited" as a contributing factor for why the decision to terminate my employment was reached.

Seriously, it's such a subjective process that anything can be said/made up/"documented" that supports the already settled conclusion. Termination of employment is a fait accompli. It's like breaking up with someone. You don't like them? Buh-bye. You want a reason? Pick one. It's irrelevant.

...

On the other hand, I know that businesses are always fighting for increased efficiency. And the decision to terminate an employee is not reached lightly. There are real costs associated with termination. There's the whole I have to fire this guy process, the whole I have to hire someone new process and/or I have to distribute his workload across the remaining employees process, and the effect on the morale of the remaining employees is (in my experience) negative. I don't remember too many assholes being fired. They usually left of their own accord, being assholes and all. But I can remember lots of cases where regular folks, nice people were "let go" (I'm going to let you go. You may go now. You have my leave to leave. It's not really fair, ever. The employer holds far more power, usually expressed in economic terms, than the employee does. Anywhoo... ). That has a cost to the business as people increase their fear/wariness up a notch and their enthusiasm down a notch. It can result in increased productivity--please don't fire me, I'm rowing as fast as I can--but it usually has a cost in morale.