“Quiet firing” is a corporate response to the “quiet quitting” practice that rose to prominence in recent years. Workers who want to move on from their current positions may begin scaling back the amount of work they provide their employers, slowing down and refusing to accept additional responsibilities. In at least some of those cases, the goal is to force an employer to terminate the worker, allowing them to qualify for unemployment benefits instead of losing that right by directly quitting.
Those who want to keep their jobs may sometimes find themselves facing conduct that could constitute a quiet firing. They experience the pressure of a slow squeeze intended to force them from their position. Their employers take steps to make their jobs so miserable that the workers feel like they have no choice but to quit.
In many cases, so-called “quiet firings” may constitute constructive discharge, also known as constructive dismissal in the Indiana court system.
What is constructive dismissal?
When employers want to force workers to quit, they may make their daily lives miserable by assigning them the worst possible job tasks. They might also cut the worker’s hours to an unsustainable level so that they cannot cover all of their routine expenses with their wages. Transfers to other shifts or locations to make working more inconvenient are also common.
These practices can constitute constructive discharge, which is a violation of worker rights, especially in scenarios where the motivation behind the termination relates to the worker’s protected characteristics or their use of employment rights. If a company tried to force a worker to quit to avoid firing them, the business’s conduct may be unlawful.
Businesses generally cannot fire workers due to personal characteristics, such as their age, religion or sex. Doing so is a form of unlawful discrimination.
They also typically cannot fire workers if they assert their rights by reporting harassment, requesting medical leave or attempting to organize with their coworkers. In scenarios where a quiet firing correlates with employer discrimination towards specific workers or groups or it follows a worker’s attempts to assert their rights under the law, the situation may constitute a wrongful termination and a violation of both state and federal employment laws.
Employees targeted by quiet firings that may have a basis in an employer’s decision to retaliate against them or discriminate against specific workers or groups may need support from an Indiana employment law attorney. Reviewing a company’s conduct and any other key details can help employees identify attempts at constructive dismissal and may allow them to take legal action in response to what could be a wrongful termination.