Legal Question in Employment Law in Massachusetts

Re: rights to terminate employment

Let me preface my answer by saying that, while I am admitted to the bar in Massachusetts, I live in NY and am not familiar with Massachusetts practice--I would advise you speak to someone who practices in Mass. and would be familiar with state law that might apply.

That said, I have practiced employment law for 6 years, and the general rule, unfortunately, is that an employer can terminate or otherwise discipline an employee for any reason, so long as discrimination is not involved. There are some exceptions to this rule--for instance, in some states (and again, I am not familiar with Mass. law), wrongful terminations are prohibited--though wrongful termination does not mean unfair termination, it means employers cannot terminate employees for a limited number of reasons, for instance they cannot terminate a whistleblower who identifies a safety problem at his/her company. Another exception is if you have a contract. An employer may not violate a contract with an employee by terminating him/her in violation of the contract. If you don't have a written or oral contract related to the terms of your employment, then you are an "at will" employee and can be terminated for almost any reason, as I discuss above.

If your employer is taking action against you for some discriminatory reason--for instance, because of your race, gender, or age--then you can take legal action. But if they are simply acting against you because of what they think you said about the client--even if what they think happened didn't happen--you will likely have limited options.

It is possible that your co-worker slandered you by what he/she said to your supervisor. Whether this was slander would depend on several factors, including exactly what your co-worker said to the supervisor. However, even if there is a possibility that the employee slandered you, I do not see a way that this would prevent your employer from terminating you.

Again, you should discuss this issue in depth with a Massachusetts attorney who (a) will know if any state law (e.g. re: wrongful termination) might apply, and (b) can ask you detailed questions to find out if there is any basis for your opposing your employer's action, or possible action--for instance, maybe there is something you can submit to your employer as part of their investigation to save your job. Even if the employer is legally free to terminate you, it still could be helpful to present your case so that they know what really happened--maybe they will believe you and decide to keep you on.

Re: rights to terminate employment

In Massachusetts, you can be terminated from your employment at any time, for any reason, or no reason at all. Unless you have a contract that says otherwise, you can take no action unless the termination was discrimination (race, religion, sex, etc.), or was in violation of a public policy (such as for going to jury duty, or refusing to commit perjury for the employer).

If you have an employee handbook that provides diffferently, you should contact a lawyer, and have the lawyer review the handbook.

Re: rights to terminate employment

In MA you can be fired for any reason or no reason at all unless you have a written or oral contract for a specific term.