We don't know where they work and it's possible that there's no HR department. Like if they work in a small or family owned business, they wouldn't have HR. If that's their situation, she could probably take it to the owner, provided it's not hubby.

Actually a relationship between a boss and an employee is illegal.

No, it may be against company policy, but it's not against the law.

@48 Where are you from? I could see why it would be a firable offense within the company, but a law against it is absurd.

...he's her husband. No one would win or lose that situation - in fact, she would, because of the backlash that would cause

O...mb. Guess my brain skipped over the "husband" part.

In some states, you can be fired for no reason at all. It sucks and is not fair, but it's not always illegal.

What he did counts as sexual harassment, which she is protected from under both state and federal law

I see what you're saying (about it being sexual harassment and that she's protected under both state and federal law) and, yes, that's true. However, your original statement of "he can't fire you without cause" is not true. Depending on where OP lives (on mobile so I can't see location and I'm not sure of the laws in other countries so this is for USA), most states are "at-will" which means you can be fired at any time and they don't need a reason. It doesn't apply in this case because what her husband did is wrong and illegal but, if he had fired her without the "her not sleeping with him" part, it could be completely legal (again depending on where OP lives).

#23 is correct, in a place of work OPs position as employee is more important than their relationship with the boss. By firing an employee for refusing to have sex with him he has broken the law.

If it's a family business, he's going to come crawling back for her help the next day anyway ... probably with a big bouquet. It would be nice to get a follow up from OP to get more detail and hear how it played out ... if it's not too private for her of course.

I'm guessing there is no HR to get involved because if there was it would not allow one spouse to report to the other.

55, pretty sure HR would let you file a report on your spouse as long as it was related to work and not only their relationship.

#68 what I'm saying is this company is probably too small to have an HR department, like a small business or something. Because if it did have an HR department, most HR departments have policies against spouses reporting to one another. This would be one reason why.

If it were in Minnesota, which is an at will state, you can be hired or fired at any time, for any reason unless it's discrimination, and the company doesn't even have to tell you why.

Actually it's not illegal, if the compnay is "at-will" they have the right to fire anyone for anything and are not required to state a reason unless it breaks a law a manager is completely in the right to fire and employee without a reason given anytime, any place. if the employer is at-will there's no legal action an employee can take and HR cannot do anything either.

actually the at-will law is plenty fair, my family's company is an at-will employer, if we have a problem employee it's much easier from a logistics stand point to simply let them go without reason, 9 times out of 10 it is the best option to do that and does not cause any problems for the company and if said employee tries to sue the really don't have much ground to stand on because the company is protected by the at-will law.

But that is trying to coerce her in to sex - sex which she doesn't want to have - surely if she had had sex with him to keep her job, that would be rape on his part?

Canons are ready and waiting for your orders sir!

She's not obligated to sleep with him just because he's her husband.

If she doesn't want to sleep with him, she doesn't want to sleep with him. Marriage does not guarantee free sex whenever you want.

Waiting to hear his side of the story, I get. Why she wouldn't sleep with him is none of our business and shouldn't be cause or reason for anything - why she got fired or for you to judge the story/situation. Just because you're married does not mean you are guaranteed an all access pass to sex.

nice.

God not you again I really hope you are just trolling lmao

I don't think anyone would be glad to be fired with no notice, and to have that scarring their job history