It can be difficult to make decisions about letting certain employees go from their positions. But as an employer, you know that it is sometimes necessary. An employee may not be working out, you may not be happy with their performance on the job, and it may just be time to move on.
One concern that employers sometimes voice is that the employee they want to fire is in a protected class. Common examples of protected classes are gender, age, race, religion and disability status. This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but the EEOC states that employment decisions should not be based on these classes. So does that mean it is illegal to fire someone who is within such a class?
The reason for the termination
No, this does not necessarily mean that the termination is illegal. Just because someone is part of a certain religion or has a certain ethnic background does not mean it is impossible for you to fire them. You can terminate them from their position without worrying about legal ramifications.
Rather, the law states that you are not allowed to decide who to fire because of the protected class.
In other words, if an employee has had poor performance at work, you can fire them regardless of their race, religion, gender or other such characteristics. But if you decide to fire someone because of their religion, then that would be illegal. The protected class does not stop the termination entirely, but helps to define why it can or cannot occur.
It is important for both employees and employers to know how this works and to understand all of their legal options if a conflict arises.