Legal Question in Employment Law in New York
at will employee
I understand an ''AT WILL'' employee can only be fired subject to:
* for any reason whatsoever
Can you also fire an ''AT WILL'' employee if you violate anti-discrimination laws?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: at will employee
Absolutely not. The major exceptions to �At Will� employment are the federal, state and local laws prohibiting discrimination. However, not everything is discrimination. It is illegal to fire a person because of that person�s race, gender, religion, disability, age (over 40), national origin, pregnancy or because that person made a complaint about discrimination. It is not discrimination, for example, if the employer fires a person who likes a certain sports team, or to replace that person with a relative of the employer, or because the employee is a bad employee, etc., etc. Most importantly, it is legal to fire someone who is a certain race, for example, or who is pregnant. It is illegal to fire that person BECAUSE he is a certain race, or BECAUSE she is pregnant. Do you see the difference?
The laws are complex, and the procedures are even more complex. If you would like to discuss a specific case, you may call me at (914) 949-6323.
Re: at will employee
An employer may not terminate an employee's employment for a discriminatory reason.