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Does the US have zero employee protection laws?? (lemmy.nz)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by luthis@lemmy.nz to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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Just following on from this: https://lemmy.nz/post/1134134

Ex-Tesla employee reveals shocking details on worker conditions: 'You get fired on the spot.'

I'm curious about how far this goes.

You can't get fired on the spot in NZ, unless you like, shot someone or set the building on fire or something really bad.

But it seems that in the US, there's little to no protections for employees when their bosses are dickheads?

Also, any personal stories of getting fired on the spot?

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[–] wrath-sedan@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago

Yes, we do have federal labor laws, which you can find summarized here: https://www.usa.gov/labor-laws. They just kind of suck compared to peer nations. Here is the section most relevant to the Tesla employee story:

All states, except Montana, allow "at will" employment. This means that an employer or employee can end the employment at any time, for any reason. However, the reason for termination cannot be illegal. This includes:

Discrimination based on race, sex, age (40 and over), nation of origin, disability, or genetic information
Retaliation for reporting illegal or unsafe workplace practices
Refusing to conduct illegal activities

Like others have said, enforcement is spotty, and what state you live in / whether the job is unionized plays a huge role as well in terms of what you actually experience.