Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Maybe those laws are one of the reasons Americans are so fond of the rat race and everything that comes with it People can never be sure they will still have a job tomorrow, so they feel like they need to amass as much money as possible and as quickly as possible in order to be on the safe side After all, many have families and mortgages...
What's the notice period in those at-will states? Does the same notice period apply to employees wanting to quit as well?
OMG! *BACK* in the, *BACK* in the, *BACK IN THE USSR!*, as Paul McCartney once crooned. You're scaring me. Meeting the quota was the only thing that mattered in the Sov. Union. People churned out cr@p that began falling apart before it got loaded onto the truck for delivery. And we all know what happened to THAT economy!!
Yup, capitalism and communism have more things in common than people realize.
Maybe those laws are one of the reasons Americans are so fond of the rat race and everything that comes with it People can never be sure they will still have a job tomorrow, so they feel like they need to amass as much money as possible and as quickly as possible in order to be on the safe side After all, many have families and mortgages...
What's the notice period in those at-will states? Does the same notice period apply to employees wanting to quit as well?
Not so much fond of the rat race as running scared. Just as bad, in such a huge country and with different states offering tax incentives, people frequently find their jobs are moved to other, cheaper states and they either have to move/ may need to take a pay cut, or will lose their jobs. Not fun with kids, a mortgage and a life. Some families find themselves split between states just trying to make ends meet. One of my coworkers is having to move to Florida for this reason - his wife was let go and can only find work there. Luckily he was able to find a similar position to the one he has down south so at least they can stay together.
Generally, no notice is required although companies will demand that employees give notice. There are lots of lovely stories out there - such as people being fired for being too expensive and kept on just long enough to train their cheaper/foreign replacements (who are brought in on work visas under the guise that the company can't find qualified employees). One of my customer contacts was let go after 24 years with the same company, no notice. He counts himself lucky that his contract required decent severance. He had a great track record but the company was sold and the new management brought in their friends. Actually, I know 2 people that happened to now I think about it. Lovely lady worked for a company for 20+ years through much growth, company was bought and the new team let lots go - she was only an office manager too, hardly strategic. Got laid off a few months after her husband died suddenly. I'm trying to help her find something.
"Workers complain of eliminated raises, a frenzied pace and mandatory overtime. Several said it's common to find out on Friday evening that they'll have to pull a weekend shift, with disciplinary action for those who can't or don't show up."
"Laborers in Swedwood plants in Sweden produce bookcases and tables similar to those manufactured in Danville. The big difference is that the Europeans enjoy a minimum wage of about $19 an hour and a government-mandated five weeks of paid vacation. Full-time employees in Danville start at $8 an hour with 12 vacation days — eight of them on dates determined by the company.
What's more, as many as one-third of the workers at the Danville plant have been drawn from local temporary-staffing agencies. These workers receive even lower wages and no benefits, employees said."
And warehouse shipping companies (Amazon) utilize even weaker protections for "temp" workers who can be temp for years and have no rights. It might seem to be something that only affects low income workers but it is a huge problem in IT and the pharmaceutical industries too, with temp analysts, temp project managers and temp chemists being the norm.
This article from the Morning Call was pretty explosive:
But hey, as per the OP's question vs a vs doing business in the US. If you want to set up a company, the US is probably better - the states will give you money to come and abuse their citizens......
Not so much fond of the rat race as running scared. Just as bad, in such a huge country and with different states offering tax incentives, people frequently find their jobs are moved to other, cheaper states and they either have to move/ may need to take a pay cut, or will lose their jobs. Not fun with kids, a mortgage and a life. Some families find themselves split between states just trying to make ends meet. One of my coworkers is having to move to Florida for this reason - his wife was let go and can only find work there. Luckily he was able to find a similar position to the one he has down south so at least they can stay together.
Generally, no notice is required although companies will demand that employees give notice. There are lots of lovely stories out there - such as people being fired for being too expensive and kept on just long enough to train their cheaper/foreign replacements (who are brought in on work visas under the guise that the company can't find qualified employees). One of my customer contacts was let go after 24 years with the same company, no notice. He counts himself lucky that his contract required decent severance. He had a great track record but the company was sold and the new management brought in their friends. Actually, I know 2 people that happened to now I think about it. Lovely lady worked for a company for 20+ years through much growth, company was bought and the new team let lots go - she was only an office manager too, hardly strategic. Got laid off a few months after her husband died suddenly. I'm trying to help her find something.
All states are "at will" except for Montana.
Gee, that's not a very human way to treat obviously loyal employees Poison for people's motivation and trust. How are employees fired that way ever going to trust an employer again?
Seems rather unfair that employees have to give notice instead of employers. Not only that, employees are often bound by non-disclosure agreements that all but prevent them from finding new jobs in their fields of expertise.
Things should really be more symmetrical in terms of rights and duties.
Good luck to your friend, must be hard to deal with two such blows at the same time
To answer Shooting Stars question, yes a UK company can lay off staff if it needs to but it has to give them either x months notice or x months pay where x is whatever is specified on the contract of employment (x=1 to 3 typically).
""Can your boss really tell you who to vote for?" asked the Atlantic incredulously, before concluding the answer is "probably yes". Should this be a surprise? Seeing that your boss can legally tell you to do nearly anything else, down to what you may wear, when you may eat and how often you may go to the bathroom (and, if he wishes, demand samples when you do), the question comes across as a little naïve. So, too, is the corollary "Can you be fired for expressing political views at work?" Again, the answer is probably yes, which should only be a shock to anyone who has never held a job in an American private-sector workplace.
In truth, as an "at-will" (that is, non-union) employee, you can be fired for much less. In Arizona, you can be fired for using birth control. If you live in any one of 29 states, you can be fired for being gay. You can be fired for being a fan of the Green Bay Packers if your boss roots for the Bears.
Lest you think employer authority ends when you clock out, only four states – California, Colorado, New York and North Dakota – protect workers from being fired for legal activity outside of work. For the rest, workers can and have been fired for anything from smoking to cross-dressing, all in the privacy of their homes. The growing practice of employers demanding job applicants to hand over their Facebook passwords underscores the blurring of the work-life divide in this information age."
""Can your boss really tell you who to vote for?" asked the Atlantic incredulously, before concluding the answer is "probably yes".
Sorry, but no.
If you could prove that you were fired because of who you voted for, you'd have a hell of a lawsuit. Voting freedom is sacred here.
LOTS of people express political views at work. It's very common. The only way you could get fired is if you started actually bothering other employees about it. If you could prove that you were fired for merely holding a political view your employer didn't like, you'd have a lawsuit.
You have to realize that even if a stupid law is on the books, like being fired for using birth control in Arizona (first I've heard of it), that it would not fly in court. There are many stupid laws on the books that are unenforced, and once someone mounts a legal challenge and wins, those laws become null and void.
Some laws will hold up in court and some won't. If you can prove your civil liberties were violated, then you win.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
People can never be sure they will still have a job tomorrow, so they feel like they need to amass as much money as possible and as quickly as possible in order to be on the safe side 
After all, many have families and mortgages...
