As a salaried employee, can I be fired for refusing to leave my business cell phone on 24 hours a day, seven days a week?

Question

As a salaried employee, can I be fired for refusing to leave my business cell phone on 24 hours a day, seven days a week?

Answer

Yes ...... not because this is a good reason to fire someone, but because the employer doesn't need a good reason to fire someone. I sometimes tell clients that an employer can fire an employee for a good reason, or for no reason at all, but not for a bad reason ........ and the list of bad reasons is rather short, including such things as sexual preference, race, religion, marital status, ethnicity, and maybe a couple of others. (This general right-to-fire does not apply when the employee's status is protected by the terms of a written employment contract, which can be either a union contract or a personal one.)

Answer

I agree with Mr. Whipple. Let me add one bad reason to his list: Retaliation against whistle-blowers. That doesn't seem relevant to your question, but it's worth noting for other users who will see this page in the future.