Potential Legal Responses Towards “Quiet Quitters”

Quiet quitting has been making headlines recently and has become a new employment trend. Quiet quitting, despite the name, is not connected to quitting a job outright. Quiet quitting is where employees do the bare minimum and turn down work that is outside of their regular job description. Whether this appears to be an employee setting healthy work boundaries or not, the issue of disengagement in the workplace needs to be addressed.

There are potential legal responses that can be taken towards quiet quitters, however, there are some remedies that employers can consider prior to termination. Counseling and performance plans are a notable approach since they can target an employee’s substandard performance and find the root cause. Incentivizing through bonuses, raises, and promotions are another proven method to boost employee engagement and motivation. It is also a good idea to recognize top performers who do go above and beyond. Lastly, if these methods and increased communication aren’t cutting it, termination might be the final outcome.

At-will states, like California, allow employers and employees to, at any time and for any legal reason, terminate the employment relationship. That means that substandard performance from a quiet quitter could lead to termination.