Washington News Service – produced by Isobel Charle:  Workers in Washington and across the nation would be better protected by a just cause employment standard, according to a new report.

The vast majority of employees in Washington and across the country are classified as at-will workers, meaning a company can let them go for almost any reason, or no reason at all.

Kathy Lara, policy analyst at the Oregon Center for Public Policy and the report’s author, believes at-will employment weakens labor rights, undermines protections against workplace discrimination, and can compromise safety standards.

“The research also shows that workers then tend to accept unhealthy and hazardous workplace conditions in order to not experience those unfair firings,” Lara explained. “They might deal with management hostility because of it. They might accept wage theft because they don’t wanna be unjustly fired.”

Lara noted even with antidiscrimination laws, the burden falls on workers to prove bias. This is harder to do when employers can fire someone freely. She argued a just cause law would require documented, legitimate reasons for firings, provide guidelines for progressive discipline, and include strong anti-retaliation protections for workers.

Lara noted union workers and public sector workers already have just cause employment, as well as many CEOs and other high-level positions. She added heads of companies generally have contracts which guarantee they will at least receive notice before they are fired and often get a severance package.

“These high-level employees, they understand that without a contract, their positions are precarious,” Lara observed. “I think that should also be applied to the everyday person as well, who’s working retail, a bus driver, gas station attendants, what have you.”

The report found sudden firings force workers to drain savings, go into debt and struggle to afford basics like food and child care. Lara argued a just cause law would provide greater economic stability.