Is it legal for a company to fire you just to save money...

My wife has had this job for 2+ years now, with a fairly high salary...and her new boss which was just hired a few
months ago has made such comments like, we are paying you way to much, I can get rid of you anytime I want because I am the boss, bla, bla...
and he has made several (you are paid to much) comments, so it was not the first time.

and my wife is the best at what she does, this is why they hired her, and paid her this salary
from the start, so is it legal for a company to fire you just so they can save money???

and the sad part about this is that my wife has never been fired from a job in many, many years....

 

I think this frequent confrontation is grounds for a "hostile work environment" claim.

That being said. I know here in Oregon, they can fire you for any reason they wish. What makes this case unique is the frequent confrontations.

Then again, i'm not a legal expert.

 

in one word yes, they can fire you time, some HR out sourced companies make rather good money on just firring ppl too, during last 2 years of economic melt down around the world saw millions of employees being fired to cut costs, but they cannot fire on basis of gender discrimination or sexual preferences or least in some countries they can't , or even there if the top management wants you out.. the pink slip is very a much a reality.

 

If the comments made to her are true, then I think you/she would have a case (threats). But if someone was fired to save money, theres nothing wrong with it.. Companies downsize all the time to save money.

 

the comments made to her are true, her new boss has been aggressive ever since he started with this company. My wife is the best at what she does, and she was paid for it....
its nice the the ceo's of this company got $400k raises, and he fires the best of the best, and does not fire the other idiot managers...who do you think the idiots run too
when they need help? They all run to my wife because she is that good...my wife saved this company from BK when she started, and now that times are gotten
a little good for them, this is how they repay her...her boss wants to run this company into the ground, and seems to have a history of this, and my wife did not
want to follow his bad behavior problem, so therefore she was tossed...my wife did a lot for this company that you can not get other employees to do, and because
he made this bad call, I think the company is once again going to suffer once again, as the company was suffering before they hired her.

 

If there's no contract ruling otherwise, they can fire you to save money. Though, it will probably be worded differently on the record.

 

I'd say your best bet right now is to go to that company's HR and hang the boss out to dry. Even if they have the ability to fire your wife for no apparent reason, it still does not give them any right to mention it as often as you have stated or at all to be completely honest.

 

In most states in the U.S., employees are "at will" unless they have an employment contract that states a term. "At will" employees can be fired for any reason or for no reason at all, as long as the firing does not violate a specific statutory or constitutional protection (such as firing someone based on race, religion, etc...).

Even if the employment is not in an "at will" situation, terminating an employee to reduce cost would generally be a valid reason for termination.

Because the law varies from state to state and is highly dependent upon the facts of the particular circumstance, your wife should consult a local attorney to determine whether she has any legal rights in her situation.

 

You may be able to take some sort of legal action if the comments become harassment. Most companies have a clause in the employment agreement that states that they have the right to terminate an employee with or without cause. So, the short answer is, yes a company can fire someone to save money (in fact they do it all the time). The harassment is another story however, you might want to seek some professional legal advice about that.