Fired for Standing Up to a Bully
An employee at a retail store has a long history of being rude and engaging in obnoxious gossip about other workers and their families. Another worker got tired of the conduct and confronted him, stating that his comments were wrong. The bully contacted a supervisor and said that he no longer wanted to work with the worker who stood up to him, declaring, "It's him or me". The person who stood up to the bully was then fired, after being told that he did not get along with other workers. Is that a legal firing under Iowa law, and can the employee sue?
Re: Fired for Standing Up to a Bully
Iowa is a traditional at-will employment state. As long as the termination was not prevented by contract (a contract with the employee or a collective bargaining agreement), and did not otherwise violate the law (e.g., discrimination based upon the fired person's gender, color, race, age (>40), religion, etc.), the employee can fire him for any reason, even if that reason is mistaken.