{"id":5212,"date":"2026-01-13T18:17:41","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T18:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shegerianconniff.com\/?p=5212"},"modified":"2026-01-13T18:17:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T18:17:41","slug":"why-being-fired-for-following-safety-protocol-is-a-hidden-form-of-wrongful-termination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shegerianconniff.com\/dev\/why-being-fired-for-following-safety-protocol-is-a-hidden-form-of-wrongful-termination\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Being Fired for Following Safety Protocol Is a Hidden Form of Wrongful Termination"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some of the earliest safety measures date back to the 1880s, when Massachusetts passed factory safety and health laws requiring elevator inspections and ensuring that factories had enough fire exits.<\/span><\/p>\n

After 362 miners were killed in a U.S. mine collapse in 1907, the U.S. Bureau of Mines was established to promote mine safety. That same year, an investigative journalist uncovered that about 1,200 workers were killed each year in the steel industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you’ve read Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, you know the author secretly worked in Chicago’s meatpacking plants and exposed the unfair, unsanitary, and often dangerous working conditions. Some good came from this book. President Roosevelt pushed for heightened safety through the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a start. The Department of Labor was formed in 1913. The goal of this new government agency was to protect workers by improving working conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n

OSHA came much later, under President Nixon. Its goal focused on workplace safety and health. Since its establishment, workplace fatalities have fallen by 60%, while injuries and illnesses have fallen by 40%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Safety protocols set by state and federal agencies are crucial to a healthy, safe workplace. Yet, some employers continue to push employees to ignore specific rules. If you insist on following the safety rules and lose your job, it’s wrongful termination<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Realities of At-Will Employment<\/span><\/h3>\n

California and many other states follow at-will employment rules. This means your employer has the right to terminate your employment without notice. You have the right to quit without notice.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are exceptions to this rule. If you are a union employee with a contract, both you and the company must follow the rules in the union contract. If you have another type of employment contract, any termination rules, such as providing you with a month’s notice or requiring you to stay on long enough to find a replacement, are followed.<\/span><\/p>\n

The termination cannot be for an illegal reason. Your employer couldn’t terminate your position because you’re 50 and getting too close to retirement age. Other protected classes in California include:<\/span><\/p>\n