Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Oregon

Retaliation at the work place

My husband came home last night all upset because his manager had called in all the top wage people at his company and acused them as being the one that went above his heard to the district manager. He then went on to tell them that he wasn't afraid to fire all of them and start over fresh and that they don't pull their weight. After that he said that if anyone went abouve his head again he would start firing people. Is this legal? At least 3 of the 5 guys that were talked to have never had a bad review of been written up for anything. Is there anything that they can do? I thought that if you had a problem with your supervisor and they were not addressing your issues it was your right to go to his supervisor to get it cleared up. My husband and his coworkers are all afraid now that they will say the wrong thing to set the manager off and then they will be fired. One guy asked for a transfer to a different store and the manager fired him on the spot stating what do you have against me. My husband feels stuck and we need help.

Thanks you


Asked on 7/11/09, 7:37 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Daniel Meek Daniel W. Meek

Re: Retaliation at the work place

First, I assume that your husband and his co-workers are not represented by a union. If they are, they should alert their union representative and have him or her pursue the matter with management.

Second, I assume that your husband and his co-workers do not have employment contracts which specify a term of employment (such as 1 year or 2 years, etc.). Thus, they are probably subject to termination "at will," which means whenever management wants to terminate them.

Third, "going over the supervisor's head to complain to superiors" is not behavior that is protected by civil rights laws. Does the problem they are complaining about has some public implication? For example, is the company covering up a toxic waste dump or deliberately falsifying its financial reports? Then your husband might conceivably have protection under "public whistleblower" statutes, if he reveals the bad behavior to government authorities.

In general, "at will" employees can be terminated for any reason that is not prohibited--any reason other than discrimination on the basis of race or gender. Yes, they can be fired for disagreeing with the manager, unless they have long-term employment agreements or are protected by a union.

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Answered on 7/12/09, 5:57 am


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