What it Means to be “At Will”

Nevada is an “at will” state where your employer can fire you at any time and  does not have to give a reason. However, their decision can not be based on sex, race, color, national origin, age, religion, or disability.

In the 1970s’ I learned about what it is to be “at will” when I worked in the casino food service industry. This is the way it worked at one place but the process was similar at others:

Occasionally, and for no apparent reason, a representative of company would come into the kitchen and command immediate attention by silently standing there until everyone stopped to look. She would scan the kitchen, then walk up to an employee and announce in a loud voice that he was fired and to come with her. The employee would disappear. Fired.

There were no work related reasons for the dismissal. We knew this was a way for the casino to “make a point’  about the  ”at will status” of its employees and they would enforce it with fear and intimidation. It worked.

Does this happen today? Probably. I know it did in the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s when I was a health inspector inspecting casino food service operations. Employees would be summarily fired in front of me for no apparent reason. Tacky but very casino-like, but by then, I was not surprised.

Most state employees are not “at will” and there are many rules that govern position qualifications, behavior and discipline.  An “at will” employee in state service would be those in unclassified positions such as those appointed by the governor or one of his political appointees.

Generally, the most unqualified people in state service are those appointed by the governor. This is very unfortunate since they “manage” departments and divisions, spend  our tax money and do it with limited skills and knowledge of their job.

If the governor and the Nevada Republican Party had its way, all positions within state service would be unclassified so anyone could be appointed to any position regardless of qualifications. This would be “at will” political cronyism at its worst. They keep chipping away at the laws meant to insure the most qualified people have state jobs and employees are not subject to political influences.

Refer to my post of March 27, 2009: “Personnel Rules Might Change – for the Worse“