Can an employer fire someone because they do side jobs on the weekends with another company?
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Can an employer fire someone because they do side jobs on the weekends with another company?
My husband is a roofer and works for an independently owned company through the week. I am unemployed so he does extra work on the weekend for extra money. His boss just fired him for this. Is this legal?
Asked on September 2, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Indiana
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
An employee can legally mandate just about whatever it wants with respect to employee behavior. This is known as "at will" employment. Basically, an employer can dictate the terms and conditions of employment, including terminating employees as it sees fit.
Exceptions to this would be if legally actionable discrimination was a factor in the employee's dismissal (i.e. different treatment based on race, religion, etc), or if there is a union agreement or employment contract prohibiting his discharge, or there is conflicting company policy on the issue.
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