Everyone dreams of having a great career and some even dream of retiring from that same career many years later, but in many cases they are blindsided and left to search for a new job. Fortunately, I have never been in this position and the thought of being told that I no longer have my position, and without any reason or notice, makes me sick. Many states have a law known, as employment at will, meaning you can be fired for just about any reason, or no reason at all. This law does work both ways, which is good for people who just want to quit without notice. Some states, such as Montana, do not have this law and there one must have cause to fire an employee. There are laws in place that protect people from being fired for things such as race, sex, and religion. “Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act the single most important legislation protecting workers from illegal discrimination on the job. It makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate based on an individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in any term or condition of employment “(Rogers, 2012). When someone can fire you for no reason at all this becomes a grey area. To find out more about employment at will, first I researched the topic within my own state. In North Carolina, one may be fired for any reason at all, unless there is an employee contract. While this seems a bit harsh, there are many reasons why an employee termination can be illegal in North Carolina: Discrimination based on race, national origin, sex, pregnancy, religion, disability, citizenship status, or age (www.ncjustice.org). Unfortunately, even though these are illegal reasons to fire someone, it happens frequently. Retaliation is another illegal reason to fire someone. Personally, I am thankful that retaliation is prohibited. Many people are afraid to report bad behaviors such as sexual harassment, stealing, and other unethical behaviors because they are afraid the person they turn in may somehow turn things around and get them in trouble as well. I have personally experienced this scenario in the workplace. I was new to a company and had a coworker who felt the need to say obscene things to me on a daily basis. I was so uncomfortable that I dreaded even going into work. I would tell him to stop and even try ignoring him; nothing worked. I debated reporting him to Human Resources, but I had only been there a month and he had been with the company for over ten years. I was scared that they would not believe me, or even worse, that nothing would happen to him and the he would somehow retaliate against me. Luckily, one of my managers actually walked up one day and overheard our conversation and saw how uncomfortable and upset it made me. He informed me that he had to report my coworker’s behavior because it was against company policy and that if he did not report it, he could get into trouble himself.
Our human resource representative and my manager scheduled a meeting with me to discuss all that had been happening. I did not want to speak to them because I had wanted this job for a long time; therefore, I was not going to let a disrespectful man drive me out of there in any kind of way. They pulled video footage that showed him trying to touch me and me pushing him away. After a period of time, they got me to speak up. They had me sign paperwork before we really got started talking, stating that I would not in any form be retaliated against in any kind of way. Even though they had me sign those papers, deep down I had a bad feeling. I had discussed the entire thing with my best friend who happened to be married to a lawyer. She had urged me to report every little thing he did because her husband said any big corporation would be stupid to retaliate against someone who had so much proof of being sexually harassed. Needless to say, I am glad I took his word because it made the sexual harassment stop and I am still with that company almost 5 years later.
Retaliation can