| "...they don't realize that ['fired'] has very negative connotations" ?! Really? "important to know what language people use" Thats exactly what I'm saying. There are three terms recognized by your state department of labor: Quit, Fired, Laid Off. You can be "fired" both in legal terminology, and in common language use, for no fault of your own, but the word has a negative connotation. What am I saying? It sucks! It's a failure of language. Socially 'fired' has a negative 'connotation' (which is commonly applied at a personal level), and in both real-world practice and in legal terms 'fired' has the 'denotation' of 'termination' where termination can be all of these things (at a relationship level), and the employee is not necessarily 'at fault'. The meaning of 'fired' is so unpredictable I can't imagine anyone using it as you say, because they don't know how someone is going to take it. However, your next employer can call your previous employer to verify employment and there is no federal law preventing the old employer from describing your termination as 'fired'. That sucks. |