If a co-worker accused me of assault, can my employer do anything to me?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If a co-worker accused me of assault, can my employer do anything to me?
HR looked into the matter, spoke with myself and several others and determined there was no evidence anything happened. The accuser went to the police and they had the same opinion that there was not sufficent evidence. The co-worker then took the complaint to the Sherrifs office in the county. They called me and advised they were referring to the DA’s office. Now,6 months later, the DA’s office has filed a complaint at large based on written complaint. I was told by the court it will be assigned to a judge and he can accept or not. No warrant has been issued and b/c simple assault, probably won’t. The alleged incident took place after hours outside work.
Asked on January 26, 2015 under Employment Labor Law, Texas
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
Most employment relationships are what is known as "at will" employment. Accordingly, your employer can hire, fire and othersiwse set the terms and conditons of employment as it sees fit; this includes terminationg you for the alleged assault, for any reason or for no reason at all. Exceptions to this would be if your discharge violates exisitng company policy, a union/collective bargaining agreement or an employent contract. Also, your dismissal would not be allowed if it involves some form of legally actionable discrimintion, although such does not appear to be the case here.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.