Being fired on the spot hardly ever happens. Usually the problem is that employers demand additional work for no increase in pay or better working conditions while maintaining a toxic or outright dangerous work environment because they know most people won't quit or even complain. That goes double for immigrants who are either undocumented, and have little recourse, or need their job to maintain their visa. Being fired on the spot sounds sort of quaint compared to what we usually see happening in American workplaces.

So what they’re referring to in that instance “you can be fired on the spot” there are states that have laws that say employees are basically working “at will” and can be fired without explanation or cause unless the employee is apart of a protected class and is fired for being in a protected class, an example of this is a member of the LGBTQ+ community being fired for their sexual orientation. There are states that protect against this but it’s a state by state basis.

Not American, so i wanted to know whether a customer can really complain and get a worker fired. I read a lot of posts on reddit where people used to brag about getting workers fired for some silly mistakes. Reading that was weird. Do employers really fire employees just because someone complained on the phone due to some silly reason? Do companies believe the customer story more than the employee story? Why the need to fire anyone? Just tell the customer it's none of their business.

At-will employment is the name of the game in the US. I wasn’t fired personally but I found out someone at my workplace was let go and I was caught off guard how immediately it took effect - never even got a chance to say goodbye.

Yes, we do have federal labor laws, which you can find summarized here: https://www.usa.gov/labor-laws. They just kind of suck compared to peer nations. Here is the section most relevant to the Tesla employee story:

All states, except Montana, allow "at will" employment. This means that an employer or employee can end the employment at any time, for any reason. However, the reason for termination cannot be illegal. This includes:

• Discrimination based on race, sex, age (40 and over), nation of origin, disability, or genetic information
• Retaliation for reporting illegal or unsafe workplace practices
• Refusing to conduct illegal activities

Like others have said, enforcement is spotty, and what state you live in / whether the job is unionized plays a huge role as well in terms of what you actually experience.

That's why we have unions. And why republicans work really hard to prevent unions.

Yes, US employees do not enjoy what first world countries consider "worker's rights".

The laws are old and the bourgeois have developed legal loopholes. E.g. my employer avoided the WARN act because the people they laid off all didn't live in the same state...

California, where Tesla has their first factory in Fremont, is an "at will" employment state. Other states that are not "at will" generally have better protections for employees. In California, they can let you go without stating a reason, which makes it really hard to fight against it if it was really for an illegal reason (like they fired you for being gay or trans).

I don't know all the states that are "at will" but it's not all of them. And California is the most surprising one.

Don't know how Americans do it honestly. At will states, no parental leave or even maternity leave(this is mind blowing plus add on the cost to birth a baby at a hospital like 🤯🤯), 2 weeks vacation, no sick time, poor insurance, etc. Read an article that says their minimum wage hasn't increased in over a DECADE. So yeah, it seems like they have very little protection.

So odd and I find I work with a fair amount of people from NA who "humble brag" about working so much or it's been years since I had a day off... just don't get it. 🤷.

Some people are glossing over that "at will" is a double edged sword. Everyone talks about how the employer can fire you on the spot. The employee can also leave on the spot. In comparison. some countries require the employee to stay at the company for a period of additional time before they can quit. This could be months depending on how long they've been working.

Now does this employee benefit make "at will" worthwhile? Probably not.