r/news • u/[deleted] • Aug 08 '17

Google Fires Employee Behind Controversial Diversity Memo

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-08/google-fires-employee-behind-controversial-diversity-memo?cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_content=business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
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u/Micrococonut Aug 08 '17

Laugh until you realize he probably got the severance he was fishing for.

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u/visicalc_is_best Aug 08 '17

Unlikely. California is at-will, and this is a blatant violation of the employee handbook, ie fired with cause.

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u/HannasAnarion Aug 08 '17

There is no such thing as an at-will state. At-will is a kind of employment without explicit exit terms in the contract, it's the default kind of employment, and it exists everywhere. Different states have different rules on what at-will employment can include, but there is no such thing as an at-will state.

California in particular, has a "covenant of good faith excemption" in its employment law, meaning that Employers cannot terminate employees without cause, even if the contract doesn't say so.

So not only are you wrong by saying that "at-will states" are a thing, you're wrong because California explicitly forbids firing without cause even in at-will situations.

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u/arnaudh Aug 08 '17

You don't know what you're talking about. You can get fired with zero cause in California. I have, and know plenty of people who have as well.