Legal Question in Employment Law in Ohio
Three day suspension under undisclosed policy
My husband is employed as an auto technician in a non-union dealership service department. A vehicle on which he had made a repair came back to the shop a day later because a bolt had been left only finger tightened. No damage was done to the vehicle, and my husband completed the repair.
The following day my husband was informed by his service manager that there was a policy, not in any sort of writing or ever told to my husband previously, that when some certain types of mistakes are made by technicians, they are given a three day suspension without pay. They have no list or description of what types of mistakes are included in the policy, they ''just kind of decide when it happens.''
My husband was also told that his suspension would have to be fulfilled some un-named time in the future and they would let him know the day before. He could not take the suspension immediately.
I would like to know, first of all, if Ohio is an 'employment-at-will state.
Secondly, if it is not, is my husband's employer violating his right's in any way with this suspension?
I ask the 'employment-at-will' question, because it seems that such a designation pretty much allows employers to do anything they like to employees.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Three day suspension under undisclosed policy
The general rule in Ohio is all employment is employment at-will. This means that either the employer or the employee can end the employment relationship at any time for any reason or no reason. If you are not a member of a union or have otherwise received a promise to work a specific number of hours for a specific length of time, i.e., 1 year, your employer is free to limit your hours or terminate your employment under this general rule.
Exceptions to the rule, however, exist. For example, the employer cannot discriminate against your for reasons that are not allowed under the law. The most common prohibited reasons are age, race, sex, disability, religion, and national origin. There are more, but these are the most common forms of illegal discrimination. Employers also are not allowed to retaliate against you for certain protected activities. Common protected activities include, attempts to unionize with other workers, filing worker's compensation claims, filing sexual harassment claims, or assisting a governmental agency with their investigations into the workplace.
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