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You are fired. Nearly half of American workers say they have lost their jobs a bad reason or there is no reason: maybe yes complained about parental leave policies, volunteered for an unpopular charity or simply used the wrong hairstyle.
All of these layoffs are basically legal. Unlike most developed economies, most American occupation is “at will.” Chiefs should not give any warning before dismissal. Companies make the most of this flexibility: in the first ten weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 40m people, nearly a quarter of the U.S. workforce, let go.
Now New York City is trying to change this precarious situation. Starting this week, fast food companies with at least 30 outlets across the country must prove that they have “just cause”, Which is defined as objective or behavior-related operational reasons for leaving staff.
“It’s basic equity,” says Brad Lander, the city councilor behind New York law. “Don’t you want your child to know what their responsibilities are and have the opportunity to make some comments instead of being fired for no reason?”
This does not trim mustard with fast food groups. The Industry-Funded Restaurant Law Center has demanded to block the law. Executive Director Angelo Amador argues that the rules conflict with the federal rules of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. “Why does it have a federal law if you prefer it?” he asks. “It would establish a mosaic of laws.”
Business groups argue that the flexibility of the U.S. system provides companies with the confidence to add staff more quickly. In the long run, they say, it drives faster economic growth than in Europe or Japan, where it is more difficult to downsize or lay off poor workers.
Business groups argue that workers who want more protection can unionize. Personal to the New Yorker he did it last year. However, the anti-union efforts of many companies have helped reduce union membership to more than 20% of workers in the 1980s. 10.8% last year. Amazon recently he fought a high-profile campaign to unionize staff at an Alabama warehouse.
Meanwhile, the conservative U.S. Supreme Court has not fallen on its own to help workers. A 2018 ruling it made it harder for employees to meet to sue for labor issues and the court last month abatut a California rule that required employers to allow union organizers access to agricultural workers in the workplace.
But fast food chains are wrong to fight New York law. More stable working conditions would attract and retain employees, and 2012 study the limits found in voluntary employment can drive innovation and the creation of new businesses.
Changing due to just firing would also reduce work stresses in a troubled industry harassment and discrimination claims. McDonalds alone defends itself multiple class action lawsuits alleging sexual harassment and a hostile environment.
Workers less vulnerable to summary dismissal would feel more able to call in bad administrators. And employers would have better evidence when they fired people, reducing the likelihood of discrimination lawsuits.
Progressives do not expect companies to see the light of day. While federal legislation on President Joe Biden’s occupation is stuck in the Senate, Democratic-controlled states and cities have been pushing to raise the local minimum wage and protect workers.
Illinois is considering a just cause law and nearly 2 million workers across the country are covered by “fair work week” laws that require employers to notify workers of their schedules well in advance. In April, New York sued the fast food chain Chipotle alleging violation of his version of this law.
Activists hope these statutes will help local workers and strengthen the case for national action. “It provides an opportunity to demonstrate the concept: when there are claims of‘ falling from the sky ’by the business community, it helps if those laws have been in place,” says Terri Gerstein, a senior Harvard researcher.
New York will begin enforcing the just cause law in September, unless it is abolished. In 2000, an appeals court ruled that one law of just cause it did not conflict with federal law. But that ruling did not apply nationally, so the New York case could have a different outcome.
At a time when employers are struggling to fill open jobs, a smart company would make stable working conditions a point of differentiation. Amazon began offering a minimum wage of $ 15, even though the federal standard is only half. Now its competitors are having to match to attract staff. Fairer rules of execution apply. There is a lesson there.
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