Can an employer fire an employee for a confidential review requested by the company?
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Can an employer fire an employee for a confidential review requested by the company?
The company is mandated to complete a yearly survey that is considered anonymous for management review. I completed the survey and submitted it a couple months ago. My manager brought me into a meeting and asked me to read a review submitted by an employee and asked for my feedback. I was honest and advised that I wrote the review. My manager then stated that they reviewed all the surveys prior to my meeting and the one in subject the one I wrote was not received well by the owner. The owner requested my manager to fire the employee who wrote it if he could identify the person. He let me know this bit of information after asking me my opinion of the review and receiving honesty I admitted to writing it. We are told upfront that the reviews are for their personal benefit and were never advised that they could get us into trouble. They asked for honest feedback and I provided my opinions, some being critical of management practices. There was no malintent on my end and I answered each question with an honest answer. Now I am paying the price.
Asked on June 17, 2019 under Employment Labor Law, North Carolina
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
Unless you had an employment contract or union agreement that afforded you protection under the circumstances, then you were an "at will" worker. This means that your employer could have terminated you for any reason or no reason at all, with or without notice. The fact is that absent some form of legally actionable discrimination, your former company could se tthw terms of your employment much as it saw fit.
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
Unless you had an employment contract or union agreement that afforded you protection under the circumstances, then you were an "at will" worker. This means that your employer could have terminated you for any reason or no reason at all, with or without notice. The fact is that absent some form of legally actionable discrimination, your former company could se tthw terms of your employment much as it saw fit.
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