In front of a packed gallery, the Ithaca Common Council voted 8-0 on Wednesday to advance the process for just cause legislation that would require employers to provide reasoning before firing employees.
While Ithaca currently operates under at-will employment law, just cause law would stipulate that employers cannot terminate employees without at least a 30-day notice that outlines the employee’s performance issue and specific steps they can take to address concerns. Some unions in Ithaca, like Cornell Dining workers and Sciencenter employees, already include just cause clauses in their contracts.
Before the vote, Cornell students, legislators and members of the community rallied outside City Hall to support just cause. Some people held cardboard signs reading messages like, “sanctuary cities need just cause,” and “council seats have just cause.”
One supporter, Jeff Cole, was fired by GreenStar for taking time off to bury his father in 2022. Since Cole’s firing, he has been homeless.
“There’s no real buffer for people anymore,” Cole said. “People deserve more respect than that.”
Jorge Defendini ’22, a former Alderperson and current Common Council candidate for the first ward, has pushed for just cause since 2022.
“We already have just cause in Ithaca [with] union contracts,” Defendini said. “The local government needs to step up and meet the moment.”
The passed resolution includes a plan to move forward with a Common Council working group, which will examine possible proposals and open up public comment on just cause legislation. While the resolution earned unanimous support, fractures formed during the meeting over a discussion over a possible exemption to just cause for small businesses.
Demonstrators from outside City Hall moved inside to attend the meeting before the vote. (Courtesy of Sam Scott)
Alderpersons Patrick Kuehl ’24 (D-Fourth Ward) and Margaret Fabrizio (D-Fifth Ward) made it clear during the hour-long debate over the resolution that they would not support just cause without a small business carveout, while Alderpersons Tiffany Kumar ’25 (D-Fourth Ward) and Clyde Lederman ’26 (D-Fifth Ward) expressed openness to such a carveout.
Defendini and other supporters of just cause opposed a carveout, chanting “just cause needs jaws, no small business clause,” and Defendini explained opposition by saying that “there’s no small business carveout [for health regulations], because we understand it is a matter of safety. Just cause is a matter of safety.”
An Ithacans for Just Cause press release called a carveout “nonsense” and a “poison pill,” claiming that a majority of Ithacans are employed by small businesses. Their petition for just cause has almost 900 signatures.
It remains to be seen exactly what shape Ithaca’s possible just cause legislation will take, and whether it will include a small business exception or not. However, most just cause legislation requires employers provide notice of firing, inform employees before firing to allow them the chance to fix possible issues and provide some severance pay.
Montana is the only state with just cause legislation on the books, while New York City passed a fast food worker just cause law earlier in 2024.
Although the Common Council voted to advance the process for just cause, the legislation still has a long way to go before it becomes law. The Wednesday vote only moved just cause to public comment.
After public hearings and open forums where the Ithaca community will be able to voice their opinions on the bill, just cause will finally move to a final vote in the council. According to the passed resolution, public hearings must be held before the end of the year, before a likely vote at the beginning of 2026.
Hannah Shvets ’27, a supporter of just cause and candidate for the Common Council’s fifth ward, was hopeful just cause would eventually pass.
“If we continue to apply pressure, and show that this is what the community believes in, I believe they will vote in favor,” Shvets said.
Atticus Johnson is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is a senior writer for the News department and can be reached at ajohnson@cornellsun.com.
