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Employers
Can Fire For Personality Clash
(Alaska Version)
by Dr. Lynne
Curry
Question:
I just got fired. My boss and I had been on the outs for a long
time and I half expected to get fired, but didn’t believe he’d
trump up false charges for firing me. The real truth is we had a
major personality conflict and I got the ax because he had the
power.
I can’t decide
whether to just put this behind me and move forward or to sue for
wrongful discharge. My boss made false allegations in his letter
terminating me and I’d like those removed from my record. Also,
since my boss and I should equally share responsibility for a
personality clash, I think my boss should share some of the
repercussions. If I don’t do something, I’m the only one hurt
by this.
I’ve done some
Internet research and know employers can’t escape the
consequences for acting unfairly when employees have the guts to
fight for their rights. The way I see it, I lost the battle but
plan to win the war. My rights were clearly violated and I just
need some help to set the record straight.
Answer:
If you want to win the war, you need to pick your battles wisely.
You can’t win fighting for rights you don’t have.
You’re right
that Alaskan courts require that employers observe the legal
covenant of good faith and deal fairly with employees. This means
they can’t fire employees for discriminatory reasons such as an
employee’s age, race, sex, disability, religion, pregnancy or
other protected categories. Employers can, however, fire employees
over personality clashes when employees lack the protection of
union contracts or personnel policies stating that firing must be
based on a just cause.
In 1999, an
employee who felt as you did took her case all the way to Alaska’s
Supreme Court, alleging her company, Era Aviation, fired her based
on a "disgruntled supervisor’s unsupported complaints and
misrepresentations." The employee felt her work performance
was adequate and that firing her for any reason other than poor
performance was unfair. Not only did her employer show a quantity
of information about the employee’s poor performance but Alaska’s
Supreme Court ruled that a company can fairly fire an employee for
not getting along well with her supervisor. According to attorney
Tom Daniel, who argued the company’s position before the Court,
"Some employees just don’t get along well with some
supervisors. When supervisors and employees can’t work well
together, companies have a legitimate business problem. The
Courts, in this and other rulings, gave employers the right to
handle this problematic business situation. This Alaska Supreme
Court ruling clarified that firing an employee because of a
personality dispute with her supervisor is not unfair."
Next, you need to
decide if you can win the legal battle it may take to expunge or
seal your termination letter. If you chose to sue, prepare
yourself for learning more than you want to about what led to your
firing. When Era’s terminated employee alleged her
"disgruntled supervisor" trumped up charges against her,
the supervisor provided a quantity of objective information
documenting the employee’s poor performance and violation of
company policy. Although you may be able to win a verdict of
"supervisor guilty" in your own mind and when you
present your case to your friends and family, what do you think
attorneys and jurors may say when presented with your supervisor’s
evidence as well as your own testimony? In short, not only might
you not win fighting being fired for a personality clash – but
what happens to your case if you were fired for real performance
problems?
Finally, you need
to decide which war you want to win. Do you want career success
and a paycheck equal to your talents, or do you want to spend time
and energy battling a former supervisor? By your own accounting,
you felt at odds with your supervisor for a long time and
half-expected to get fired. Perhaps you’re right and he trumped
up charges and you need to clear your record. If, however, your
real goal is career satisfaction, you might get there faster from
taking a more direct route – and finding a next job.
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