Can a boss threatened to fire me to another worker?
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Can a boss threatened to fire me to another worker?
My boss has told my co-workers that she is going to fire me in 2 weeks, and in that time she plans on trying to make me quit. She has wrote me up on hearsay from other employees. I have witnesses against most her claims. Another write-up was for missing a meeting when I was out of work that week for a back injury, with a doctor’s excuse,. The injury happened because of work. She has called me a liar infront of co-workers and is constantly disrespecting everyone. My co-workers are depending on me to do something about it. We work at an assisted living unit for dementia patients.
Asked on June 14, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Ohio
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Yes, your boss may threaten to fire you to another worker--there is no law against this. If you do not have an employment contract, you may be threatened with termination, or actually terminated, for any reason--including heresay--and your employer is not obligated to hear your evidence to the contrary. Also, unfortunately, employers are allowed to disrespect their employees; they do not have to treat them with courtesy or professionalism.
If the employer is making untrue factual assertions about you, such as that you lied about something when you did not, to other people, that may constitute defamation and you could potentially sue your employer; however, unless you have suffered some actual economic loss or injury of some sort, or at least can demonstrate some harm other than emotional upset, you could not receive enough monetary compensation to make the lawsuit worthwhile.
When you don't have an employment contract, you are an employee at will, and employees at will have very few rights at their place of employment or to their jobs.
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