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Comment by courtewing | Hacker News Reader

What in particular do you think makes them vulnerable to a lawsuit? I am not a lawyer, but my understanding is that in the US, it is legal to fire most non-contract employees at any time, without any notice, and for pretty much any reason (or even lack of a reason) other than outright discrimination based on nationality/gender/religion/etc.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At-will_employment and specifically the "Statutory exceptions" section.

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This is totally correct. I actually really love at-will from both points of view because it promotes freedom for all parties involved. Hate your job? Quit. Hate your employee? Fuck 'em, terminate them.

The timing is what makes them vulnerable. They can claim whatever they want as the reason for firing, but the timing will look bad in they eyes of sympathetic jury.

Can you fire someone for being the victim of a crime? They clearly fired her here in response to a DDoS.

I guess I wouldn't be surprised if shitty American employment law permits it, but it's not ethical on the employer's part.

They fired her because she could no longer be effective in the position they hired her for.

That's the official line, but I don't believe it.

You not believing it doesn't really qualify as a violation of the law.

Yes.

Edit: Especially given my short response, I think it is important to reiterate how much I am not a lawyer.

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