What happens if you are terminated from employment at will but you can’t get a straight answer from the HR department except “you don’t meet performance expectations for the position”?

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What happens if you are terminated from employment at will but you can’t get a straight answer from the HR department except “you don’t meet performance expectations for the position”?

I feel that I was terminated for personal and not professional reasons. They also told me that they were merging the my department with another one and that my boss was going to be in charge of both. I found out a week later that the position is open again.

Asked on August 31, 2015 under Employment Labor Law, Georgia

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 8 years ago | Contributor

Your employer is not required to give an employee at will a "straight answer" about the reasons for termination, since an employee at will may be terminated at any time, for any reason, or for no reason at all e.g. an employer could literally terminate someone because they had a bad day and wanted to make themselves feel better by showing how "powerful" they are and firing someone. Since there is no legal requirement for certain reasons or justifications for termination, there is likewise no legal requirement to explain or describe the reason for termination. Personal reasons--e.g. personal dislike, personality clashes, prefering to give the job to a friend, etc.--are all perfectly valid reasons for termination.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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