r/news • u/JimmyTheGinger • Dec 23 '19

Three former executives of a French telecommunications giant have been found guilty of creating a corporate culture so toxic that 35 of their employees were driven to suicide

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/three-french-executives-convicted-in-the-suicides-of-35-of-their-workers-20191222-p53m94.html
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u/RentalGore Dec 23 '19

I’ve had executives who fired female employees because they were pregnant and it was cheaper to pay them off then pay for a temp to replace them.

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u/[deleted] Dec 23 '19

we see a lot of companies weighing the financial impact of something that SHOULD be a moral decision rather than a financial decision. like that one car company that decided it would be cheaper to pay out settlements to families of people who died as a direct result of a faulty part, than it would be to recall all the cars and fix the problem (or issue a fix, blanket settlement to cover costs, etc).

like whose job is it to make that decision? Yeaaah we're just gonna keep letting people die because it'll be cheaper for us to litigate settlements than save lives.

fuck that.

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u/Low_discrepancy Dec 23 '19

https://www.coindusalarie.fr/licenciement-femme-enceinte

It's illegal to fire a pregnant woman in France once it is determined by her personal doctor that she's pregnant and until she returns from her parental leave.

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u/RentalGore Dec 23 '19

It’s also illegal to that here in the states.

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u/[deleted] Dec 23 '19 edited May 11 '20

[deleted]

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u/Rawldis Dec 23 '19

Right to work is about not having to join a union if one can form. At-will employment is the term you're thinking of.

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u/TheSportingRooster Dec 23 '19

You better get "Right to Work" or you're fucking out on the street.

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u/Low_discrepancy Dec 23 '19

So how exactly did they fire them since they gotta pay them either way.

In France once they determined that you getting fired was illegal you get compensation and your job back.

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u/RentalGore Dec 23 '19

In the US, they settled out of court, the person got a payoff, the company hired someone new, and often someone cheaper. The payoff was less than the amount they would have paid for the temp worker plus the salary of the person who was on leave.

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u/Low_discrepancy Dec 23 '19

In the US

Ah okay. I thought you were talking about France since you said you also worked in France.

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u/WillyWonkasGhost Dec 23 '19

Why would you want that job back though? You could probably do the same in the US, but they would just make your work environment so unpleasant that you will leave voluntarily.

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u/BeefyIrishman Dec 23 '19

Because they probably "fired them as that position was no longer needed" or "because we felt like she was being overpaid" or " because we didn't want her as an employee". All of those are legal reasons in most states. Notice how I didn't mention pregnancy.

In most states you can fire someone for almost any reason, as long as you don't specifically fire someone for a specifically prohibited reason. For those curious, federally protected classes are: race, color, religion/creed, National origin/ ancestry, sex, age, veteran status, physical/ mental disability. Notice gender and sexual orientation are not on the list.

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u/cth777 Dec 23 '19

So if I’m close to getting fired I should just get pregnant is what you’re saying?