Not me.  Someone I know might be fired next week for their involvement in an incident where this person's actions aren't to blame, no policies were violated, but the optics are bad for the company and company leadership and/or HR may pin it on this person.  I can't go into any further details.  My questions:

Missouri employment is at-will, right?  So even if the termination seems completely unfair, is this person without any recourse?  (not having anything to do with any discrimination laws here)

If there is possibly some recourse, does anyone here have any recommendations for a lawyer?  

Or any other advice?

This person has experienced EXTREME mental breakdowns and mental anguish over this issue.


Sorry I can't go into more... I'm just looking to be proactive in case this person needs some help next week and cannot divulge more for multiple reasons.


Thanks!

This person has experienced EXTREME mental breakdowns and mental anguish over this issue.

It would be my recommendation that this employee contact a mental health professional, and get paperwork filled out to be placed on FMLA. It would seem just being at work is causing a significant medical concern which needs to be addressed.

I bet the company slows their roll.

David

Thanks for your reply David.   As for the mental health, it is being taken care of and the extreme nature has subsided, but clearly was exacerbated by the employer's way of handling things in this person's opinion.  FMLA is not an option at this time.

...or, they say that the person is unstable, and therefore unable to do their job properly, so the company doesn't need them anymore.

I've had hiring/firing responsibilities for over a decade, several previous employees have attempted to sue and even had lawyers. None of them made it very far including an ADA case.

YMMV

FMLA for "workplace induced stress" might buy him some time now, and make them delay firing him on his return.  Has he made any documented safety complaints that could make him eligible for whistle blower protection from retaliation?
Using either of these will surely end in him leaving the company......just might buy some time or get him a severance package.  Any emails, pictures, statements he can get now he needs to get before they lock him out and fellow employees are banned from speaking to him.  Check the laws, but recording conversations can definitely pay off later.  Good luck, it's an uphill battle.

Does recording conversations in Missouri a (1) party or (2) party, ok to do without other person knowing situation?

HR should be a neutral office within the company, so the friend should contact them to get this all on file as to what went down. If this is a whistleblower situation, the friend can get anybody they trust to be their liaison to keep their identity secret. Also ask for any filed reports scanned as backup from HR, ASAP to keep on hand for JiC.

MO is a one party consent state, so you can record conversations between yourself and someone else since you consent.

HR *should* be a neutral office, but it's not.  They are there to protect the company, not the employee....and they are often, along with any in-house attorneys, the most powerful ones in the company.  Even if you have a compliance officer, employee advocate, safety dept that are all supposed to be separate and safe, don't believe for a second that they are going to keep a job for anyone.  Remember who pays their dept's budget and their salaries.....the company.  And that's who they work to protect.

Without knowing what happened and if it was at work or away from work; nobody can give any real good advice.

With that said; if the company wants him gone they will find a way one way or another.  Best thing he could do would be to start looking for another job. Hopefully finds one quickly so he can quit instead of being fired.

Update:  Person is terminated.  Manager made two lies to cover his ass.  Company's word vs this person's word.  Possibility to lose a license exists in the next few months, we just don't know yet.

Without knowing details, it's hard to offer anything useful in the way of advice, but . . . generally . . .

People fret too much over jobs, even "careers." Life goes on. It's not worth the mental health stress to stay in a toxic work scene. Live your life (live below your means) in such a way that you can walk away from a job when it's the right thing to do. No one should be captive to an employer. Quitting can be liberating and uplifting. Few things are better for your soul than being able to stand tall with pride. Sucking it up, cowering and digging into a job that's not satisfying or is actually harmful to your mental health is life-robbing. Don't do it.

Excellent advice Bladeswitcher!
  Our son did that very thing about two months ago and landed a better job than what he held previously. He was miserable because he had a very hateful and toxic boss. If you knew my son, he has a personality that would be hard for ALMOST anyone to be deliberately mean to him.
  I can also attest to that very fact in my life's careers. Sometimes you just gotta tell em' to 'go pound sand!'