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0 pointsmercurial12y ago0 comments

I'm European, this might explain my surprise. My understanding was that employers were usually very careful to avoid lawsuits for wrongful termination when firing people. I had not understood that in some places, discrimination against people with the wrong sexual orientation is fair game, while discrimination against people with the wrong skin colour isn't.

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jedrek12y ago· 3 in thread

Not to mention that most states have moved to at will employment, which means that you can be fired for no reason.

beagle312y ago

But "at will" means you can be fired for any reason except if the reason is "being in a protected class". Those include pregnant women, for examples.

It is so ridiculous it is funny. In the US, the law guarantees NO paid maternity leave, but you can't fire a pregnant lady. So, as soon as she gives birth, you can stop paying her (but not fire her), and then, two weeks after she comes back from maternity leave, you can fire her (because she is no longer in a protected class). So, basically, all this protection amounts to is ... about two extra weeks of severance.

US is pretty sad when it comes to labour law and employee rights - and most people living in the US are somehow under the illusion that it is better for them.

Does anyone know if sexual preference or sexual orientation is a recognized protected class?

sailfast12y ago

It is true that the US does not guarantee maternity / paternity leave, however many companies do have it, and some are very generous. It's a great incentive to get good people on board.

While I agree that a minimum is a good idea (though not sure how it would be legislated in practice) I also appreciate that the lack of labor regulation in the US results in a labor force and companies that are more responsive to change than in Europe and other places that are heavily regulated.

As for protected classes, it seems that sexual preference is kind of covered under Title VII, but it's flimsy (this is at the Federal level): http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/otherprotections.cfm

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epmatsw12y ago

Not federally.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_class

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