Can an employee be terminated because of a past criminal record?
Question Details:
I know someone who has been an employee of of a company and they were terminated because they have a background. But this person has been working there since April and had fingerprints done. Word around the district was that they were firing people who had backgrounds no matter what. So all of a sudden today my friend gets fired because she has a background.
Most employment relationships are what is known as "at will". This means that an employee can work for an employer, or not, their choice. In turn, the employer can hire or fire someone for any reason or no reason whatsoever.
The only exceptions to this are: 1) If there is an employment agreement or contract (which governs termination); 2) If there is a union or collective bargaining agreement (which governs termination); 3) If there is an employee handbook or other official policy statement (which governs termination); 4) If discrimination is a factor (there can be no termination for reasons of race, religion, age, disability, sex, national origin).

Are you a lawyer?
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