Seinfeld Declassified Episode 49: Can you really get fired for disliking a film?

Hello, Newman. Everyone knows Elaine has had so many iconic episodes throughout the series but I would argue no episode is more iconic than the english patient. But as funny as she was, we are here to discuss the implications behind the plot. Of course one of the main plot points of the episode was her getting fired due to her intense disdain for the film but can peterman really do that?

Well, as it turns out, he can. You see, at it happens, New York is in fact an at-will state which means employers can fire their subordinates anytime anywhere for any reason (& with no prior warning). So technically if he wants to fire her disliking the english patient, he is well within his rights. Obviously, it’s one of the dumbest reasons for firing someone you can think of but there is no law against it (at least not in the empire state).

So of course he was stupid for firing her for that particular reason but as I said, it is perfectly legal within the state of New York. In any case, he does rehire her soon after rendering it a moot point but regardless firing should be merited-based in lieu of on a whim. So that’s about all I have for you guys today but thank you so much for reading. Have a great week & I will see you back here next weekend for a brand new episode of seinfeld declassified. Until then, this is the x factor signing off.