Ithaca’s Special Committee on Wrongful Discharge and Labor Protections will review a draft ordinance Monday that would require covered employers to have just cause or a genuine economic reason before discharging workers.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in City Hall’s third-floor Council Chambers, 108 E. Green St., according to the city’s agenda. Public comment is on the agenda, and the meeting will be streamed on the city’s public-meetings YouTube channel.
The proposed Chapter 222 would cover employers with at least six employees across their locations within city limits, counting owners who work at those locations. Covered employees generally would need to have worked at least 90 days in a 12-month period while physically present at a covered location.
The draft defines discharge to include termination, layoffs, indefinite suspensions and cuts exceeding 25% of an employee’s regular hours. It also would cover a worker leaving because employer-created conditions would make quitting the only reasonable choice for an objective, reasonable person. Just cause would mean reasonable job-related grounds involving unsatisfactory performance or misconduct harmful to the employer’s legitimate business interests. Economic grounds would cover closures or reductions tied to a demonstrable decline in production, sales or profit.
Who would be covered
Government employers are exempt. Employee exclusions include probationary workers, seasonal and temporary-agency workers employed fewer than six months per calendar year, certain religious workers, employees who are members of their employer LLC or partners in their employer partnership, employees owning at least 25% of their employer, unpaid volunteers and minors employed by a parent or guardian. Independent contractors are outside the draft’s employee definition. Probationary days would not restart when a worker is rehired or changes job titles.
People receiving stipends for college teaching or research would count as employees, while people receiving educational credit for their services would not. A valid collective bargaining agreement could expressly waive the chapter’s coverage.
Courts assessing just cause would consider whether an employer applied reasonable rules consistently, provided relevant training, investigated fairly and used progressive discipline. Egregious misconduct or failure to perform could justify discharge without prior discipline.
Notice and proof requirements
Covered employers would have seven calendar days after discharge to give a worker written notice stating the reason and supporting documentation, and would have to retain the notice and related records for at least two years. Probationary workers would be exempt from the notice requirement. Notice could be delivered personally, by certified mail or by overnight courier, and would require an authorized representative to sign an affirmation under penalties of perjury.
In court, an employer claiming just cause generally could rely only on evidence included in the discharge notice, with an exception for rebuttal evidence. Employers claiming economic grounds would have to produce business records or other competent evidence showing the closure or decline that made the discharge necessary.
Failure to maintain or produce required records in a lawsuit would create a rebuttable presumption that the records do not exist and the worker received no notice.
Lawsuits and remedies
The proposal would prohibit retaliation and allow discharged workers to sue. Potential court remedies include reinstatement or restoration of hours, back pay and damages. Courts could award reasonable attorney fees and costs when an employer knowingly or intentionally violated the law. It also would authorize civil enforcement by the city attorney. Several damage limits and civil-penalty amounts remain placeholders in the draft.
A worker filing a lawsuit would have to notify the city clerk and provide a copy of the complaint within 30 days. Missing that notification would not harm the worker’s claim.
The proposed deadline for filing a claim would be the earlier of one year after the required notice was provided or two years after discharge. The draft calls for city enforcement to begin one year after the effective date and for the chapter to expire two years after that effective date; those calendar dates are not yet set. Enforcement during the first year would be limited to the private right of action. The chapter would preserve other protections and remedies under federal, state and local law.
Public input continues
Committee Chair Jorge DeFendini said members would spend the coming weeks engaging stakeholders and changing the proposal where necessary. The city plans at least three public forums in November.
The committee’s webpage includes prior presentations and public-comment instructions. In-person speakers do not need to preregister. Registration to speak virtually is available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the meeting day; written comments received after 5 p.m. are held for the next meeting.
File photo of Ithaca City Hall.
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