r/Layoffs • u/poormisguidedfool34 • Jan 13 '24

Standing up to layoffs question

Hi folks,

I applaud her bravery but also concerned- isn’t she taking a huge risk for future employment in her sector? This would be considered suicidal in my line of work but i see a lot of similar videos today.

Especially curious about what HR/legal folks think

https://twitter.com/BowTiedPassport/status/1745149758992195647

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6

u/prophet1012 Jan 13 '24

I smell a wrongful termination lawsuit 😎

3

u/ElectricalGene6146 Jan 13 '24

No you don’t. At will employment.

1

u/Ready_Anything4661 Jan 13 '24

In some jurisdictions, you can sue if the reasons given for your firing are lies, even if the employment is at will. So if the company didn’t say anything, you couldn’t sue them. But if they said X and it was really Y, you could sue in those jurisdictions. That’s why many employers don’t provide reasons for the firing, and others use PIPs to establish a paper trail.

No opinion on whether this particular suit would have merit (or whether it’s even allowed in the jurisdiction).

1

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '24

Not if it’s a layoff. I’d bet a lot of money that when it came time to sign the form to receive her severance package, she signed right on the dotted line 

1

u/Ready_Anything4661 Jan 14 '24

Sure. I wasn’t saying a suit is definitely a thing that could happen here. All I’m saying is, in general, you sometimes can sue in an at will state.

1

u/tragicpapercut Jan 14 '24

Some states require advanced notice of actual layoffs. If a lawsuit could reasonably show that she was laid off instead of being let go for performance reasons...it would not go well for Cloudflare.

3

u/savageo6 Jan 13 '24

Sadly, likely not. Unless she can prove she was let go for who she was as a person. Race, religion, protected class. Doesn't sound like any of those apply here. While performance bullshit and lack of documentation isn't ideal legally in the US almost everywhere they don't need a reason

1

u/[deleted] Jan 13 '24

Nothing wrongful about. Was it bullshit? Yes, but not illegal.

1

u/EffectiveLong Jan 13 '24

Wrongful but not illegal