If an employer sends out an anonymous survey and determines that an employee
needs to be terminated, is that employee entitled to see the results of the survey?
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If an employer sends out an anonymous survey and determines that an employee
needs to be terminated, is that employee entitled to see the results of the survey?
Is the worker entitled to see the results of the survey to verify the justification for termination? Mine is a
Asked on October 10, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Iowa
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
"Right to Work" means that as an employee, you don't have to join a union or pay union dues in order to become or remain employed. In all other respects, work is essentially "at will" which means that a without an employment contract or union agreement to the contrary, a company can set the conditions of the workplace much as it sees fit, absent some form of legally actionable discrimination. Accordingly, you have no legal right to see the results of the survey in question.
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
A "right to work" state is still an "at will" state in that all employment is at will unless you have a written contract guarantying or protecting your job. ("Right to work" means you don't have to join a union or pay union dues to have a job--it does not actually give you a legal right to have a job or avoid termination.) Since for this purpose, if you don't have a written employment contract, you are an employee at will, the employer does not need to "justify" or "verify" the reason for the termination: they can terminate you for any reason at all, at any time, and do not have to provide an explanation. Therefore, you have no right to see the survey.
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