Abusive Termination for Defending Hours and Criticizing Employer Conduct

The appellate court upheld a lower court's finding that the termination of a part-time employee was abusive under Article 336 of the Code of Obligations for two reasons: the employer insisted the employee work outside her agreed-upon part-time hours, and the employer retaliated after the employee voiced criticism, within what was deemed the employer's objective interest, regarding the sexual relationship between the employer's legal representative/secretary and a client of the association that supports people with psychological issues. The court reasoned that an employee's defense of her agreed working hours is protected, and raising a matter of conduct critical to the organization's sensitive mission, even if concerning a relationship that began post-treatment, constitutes acting in the employer's objective interest, making termination based on such actions abusive.