Unknown reason for fire

Unless your friend is in a labor union or has some contract in place that says that he will not be fired except for “cause,” then (assuming he is in Washington too) the employer does not need a reason for the termination. Washington follows the at will rule of employment, meaning that the employer can fire the worker at any time for any reason. No warnings or "progressive discipline" are required. If improper reasons may have motivated for the termination (such as race, sex, disability, whistle-blowing, etc.), then he should talk to an attorney about how to address that, but otherwise no reason is needed by the employer and there probably would not be much recourse. Unfair does not equal illegal.

If he really is insistent on finding out the reason(s), there are two options. First, under RCW 49.12.240, an employee or former employee can request to review his or her personnel file. Perhaps the information is in there. Second, Section 296-126-050(3) of the Washington Administrative Code states as follows: “Every employer shall, upon written request by the employee, furnish within ten working days of the request to each employee who is discharged a signed written statement, setting forth the reasons for such discharge and the effective date thereof.” Your friend can write to the employer requesting that they furnish within ten working days a signed written statement setting forth the reasons for the discharge and the effective date thereof. Other than that, the employer is not necessarily required to disclose why they terminated someone. But if just cause protection applies, or if some illegal motive may be an issue, the lack of an explanation and the lack of warnings may be viewed negativelyby a court, arbitrator, or jury asked to review the case in the future. Hope this helps. -Don

In Georgia, an "At Will" employment state, the legal floor or presumption is that the employer can terminate the employment relationship for a reason, or even without a reason. On the flip side, an employee can quit or resign without notice without offering a reason. So this public policy embodied in the at will employment doctrine is somewhat balanced.

The exceptions to the general rule apply only in certain limited circumstances. Without being exhaustive, Among the exceptions are: (A) when a written employment contract or union contract requires a for cause ground for termination; (B) In certain jobs or positions similar contractual or due process protections might imposed by law: like a tenures professor at a state university, or a public school teacher, or an elected official in an unexpired term of office; (C) state or federal law may prohibit certain types of discrimination in the employment relationship (Title VII among them); (D) State or federal law, or regulations imposed on certain government contractors, may require notice of termination or layoffs (like the WARN statute); (E) in order to invoke legal shields for employers in certain circumstances the grounds for termination my be published (Violation of drug free workplace rules).

Note: This Answer and any information contained in this answer is not intended to be treated as legal advice, but is offered solely for information purposes; And, this posting does not create an attorney-client relationship or privacy privilege of any kind. This attorney licensed only in Georgia.

The simple answer is no. But it depends on a variety of factors.