Legal Question in Business Law in California
If I left work and did not give a clear answer as to I was leaving why. can they fire me? I work here in so California. Told my boss I was leaving for the day feeling sick and he knows it is maybe cause he cut my commission. Can he have legal recourse on me? Assuming most of so California is at will employee state. I did actually get his bosses permission to leave and he was fine with that. My boss asked if I was leaving due to what happened with the commission issue. I told him yes and no and I was driving and didn't want to talk but we would talk few days later when I went back to work. He said there is no such answer it is only "yes or no". At first my stomach was hurting then when I found out what happened with my commission it hurt worst. That is what i am going to tell him since I could not think and I was driving. Isn't it always best to give an unclear answer? I did not abandon my job I still got permission to leave from his manager. What do you think?
2 Answers from Attorneys
As you suggest, California is an "at will" employment state, and unless you have a contract (personal or collective-bargaining), the employer can dismiss you and/or you can quit at any time. There are a few limitations, such as you can't be fired for a "bad reason" such as sexual orientation, race, religion, and a few others. However, an employee can (absent a contract to the contrary) be let go for a good reason ....... or no reason at all.
Mr. Whipple is correct. They can't fire you for being a woman, or of a certain race, etc., but they can fire you for anything else or even no reason at all. The only question if they fire you is whether it was "for cause" meaning you wouldn't get unemployment. If you had permission from your boss' superior to leave, they would be unlikely to make "for cause" stick.
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