Judge: It’s not a crime to quit your job
February 3, 2009 by Sam NarisiPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Recent Decisions, Terminations
When valuable employees quit, companies may not feel so good about losing top performers. One solution that was attempted recently: Have them thrown in jail.
That’s what almost happened to 10 nurses who simultaneously resigned from their employer, a nursing home on Long Island.
The nurses claimed that several promises made when they were hired were not upheld, including their rate of pay. So they all quit on the same day, at the end of their respective shifts — without providing notice.
What happened to them? They were charged by the district attorney with the crime of “endangering the welfare of a physically disabled person,” since their immediate resignations left the home understaffed.
The case was tossed, though. The court ruled that prosecuting employees for quitting their jobs is a violation of the 13th amendment — that’s right, the one that abolished slavery.
Cite: Vinluan v. Doyle
Tags: 13th amendment, resignation
February 4th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
I wonder what the district attorney was thinking. It seems to me that even if it were not a right to work state, the employer violated whatever contract, written or verbal, by failing to carry though on promises. I fully believe that no nurse would willingly abandon any person in need of medical attention. This action forced the employer to fill the positions with little or no notice. It put him at a disadvantage.
Personally, I think the employer is a putz.
February 5th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Nursing homes regularly call in temporary nurses to fill state required nursing staff shortages. Temporary hires are usually paid more because they come through a temporary service. This employer has made a decision to take it to a district attorney for no other reason than it being cheaper to have nurses hired on a promise of a pay level that wasn’t given to them compared to hiring more expensive temporary nurses. Endangering the welfare of a physically disabled person is a charge that can be made against the nursing home administrator if state staffing requirements are not upheld. This is a nursing home administrator decision. They usually keep their jobs by firing the head of nursing for following the administrator’s orders. This putz has a name, and will probably keep his or her job over this.