Can a Company Fire You if You Leave Work During a State of Emergency?
- When an emergency arises, emergency workers are usually required to attend. Police officers, firefighters, the laborers who shovel snow and nurses are usually required to attend work regardless of weather conditions. Such workers can be fired for missing work during a snowstorm. On the flip side, these workers can usually file grievances with their union to seek reinstatement.
- A study of businesses by the Employee Resources Council in Northeastern Ohio, a region particularly prone to snowstorms, found that absence during a snowstorm is always considered an unexcused absence 26 percent of the time for rank-and-file workers and 19 percent for managerial workers. But businesses evaluate such absences on a case-by-case basis 14 percent of the time for rank-and-file and 11 percent of the time for managers.
- Many businesses are lenient with absences during states of emergency because of liability issues. When a government declares a state of emergency, it may close many roads, but these governments often do not have the power to shutter businesses. In Delaware, state courts have noted that businesses could face lawsuits if employees are injured trying to make it to work during a state of emergency.
- It is important for employers to have a clear, written policy when dealing with states of emergency and whether that will contribute to the employer's defined absenteeism limits. If an employer fires one employee for missing work during inclement weather, the business should be able to document that the termination was done in accordance with that policy. Firing one employee for missing work, while others have not been fired, could open the business to discrimination claims.
- While unemployment insurance policies vary from state to state, employees should examine whether they are eligible to receive benefits. While employees who are fired are usually not eligible for benefits, employees who lose their job through no fault of their own are. Not being able to make it to work during a hurricane is generally not considered the employee's fault. According to the Texas Workforce Commission, "Failure to come into work on a day when authorities have closed area roads and are recommending against travel will likely not be considered disqualifying misconduct in an unemployment claim. An employer would have the burden of proving that the employee really could have come to work, despite the inclement weather conditions."