{"id":5077,"date":"2025-10-06T21:36:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T21:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shegerianconniff.com\/?p=5077"},"modified":"2025-10-06T21:36:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T21:36:20","slug":"quiet-quitting-is-it-grounds-for-retaliation-or-wrongful-termination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shegerianconniff.com\/dev\/quiet-quitting-is-it-grounds-for-retaliation-or-wrongful-termination\/","title":{"rendered":"Quiet Quitting: Is It Grounds for Retaliation or Wrongful Termination?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Quiet quitting occurs when an employee performs the bare minimum and never exceeds expectations. The employee has no enthusiasm or interest in doing more than the minimum requirements of a job. Because the employee stays in the position and collects pay, it\u2019s not truly quitting, but there\u2019s no extra effort.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over half of the nation\u2019s workforce are quiet quitters. Several things make employees disengage. It can be low pay for the work required, lack of recognition for a job well done, or continued demand for more without a pay increase. But how do you know if it violates your worker’s rights<\/a>?<\/span><\/p>\n

What Quiet Quitting Looks Like<\/span><\/h3>\n

What does quiet quitting look like? A team of engineers is asked to attend a weekend BBQ team-building gathering. The workers are already putting in 60-hour weeks, so no one shows up. That\u2019s a form of quiet quitting.<\/span><\/p>\n

A manufacturing worker came in each day to correct another worker\u2019s mistakes. Week after week of fixing machine settings, cleaning out scrapped product, and getting the machine running at expected speeds again went unnoticed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That worker got tired of doing extra without a bonus or even a simple \u201cthanks.\u201d Instead, the worker started doing the bare minimum and nothing more. He stopped coming in a few minutes early or staying late despite pleas. That\u2019s quiet quitting.<\/span><\/p>\n

California Follows At-Will Employment Laws<\/span><\/h3>\n

For most U.S. employees, including California, employment is “at-will.” At-will employment means a worker or their employer has the right to terminate a position at any time, provided the reason for the termination isn\u2019t illegal and follows any terms laid out in the employment contract.<\/span><\/p>\n

As quiet quitting suggests an employee is meeting the basic requirements of their job, an employer’s decision to fire a quiet quitter comes down to ending the position for poor performance. That\u2019s a legal termination.<\/span><\/p>\n

As an employee, you also have the right to walk away. If your employment contract requires you to give a week\u2019s notice, you do have to do that. If you don\u2019t have an employment contract, you can walk away when you\u2019re ready. You are under no obligation to stay. Your employer cannot force you to give notice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Take that same employee. Imagine if the worker overhears management saying that he\u2019s Hispanic and therefore deserves to work harder and not get paid more than his \u201cWhite\u201d co-workers. That\u2019s a different matter. At-will employment doesn\u2019t overrule employment discrimination and harassment laws.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If California is an at-will employment state, are there ever grounds for wrongful termination or retaliation complaints when an employee engages in quiet quitting?<\/span><\/p>\n

Retaliation Claims<\/span><\/h3>\n

Under both federal and California law, employers cannot retaliate if an employee sees or reports something that was illegal or discriminatory. Retaliatory acts include reducing a worker\u2019s pay, firing the worker, or demoting them to a lower position. Laws protect workers from retaliation where the employee\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n