If you read the Seattle Times today (Saturday, August 01, 2009) you probably saw the article about the bank teller who was fired after he foiled a bank robbery and apprehended the thief. The legal part of my brain understands why Key Bank has this policy, but the other part would rather see the employee get a medal as opposed to a pink slip.
Some of you might be wondering “Can the employer just do that?” Unfortunately, the answer is “yes”. Washington is an at-will state. This means that an employer can fire you for any reason unless: 1) you have an employment agreement, or collective bargaining agreement, that states you can only be fired for cause; or 2) the firing would violate a state or federal law (such as Title VII for the Washington Law Against Discrimination).
Based on the information contained in the article it seems that Key Bank’s firing was justified. I can’t fault Key Bank for having the policy, but I still have to give credit to the teller for standing up for himself.
In case you missed the article, here it is.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009579648_teller01m.html
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