>>Not a good cultural fit" is such a passive-aggressive way to justify firing someone.
It's a way of saying that they couldn't find anything specific to use against the employee, and are invoking the much more vague (and impossible to act upon) excuse of not being a good "cultural fit."
Think about it. Why aren't they being specific? They could give a hundred different reasons. Maybe you come in late everyday. Maybe your code has too many bugs. Maybe you dress inappropriately to work. Maybe you made a sexist/racist remark to someone and they reported you. Maybe you failed to deliver a project on time. Etc. etc.
But the reason they aren't giving these as reasons is because they aren't true. You are actually a stellar employee, but they don't like you, for whatever reason. So you're being let go. That's what it means to not be a good "cultural fit."
In many US states, at least, there is no recourse if you are fired without cause. But if you are fired with cause, that cause can be legal or illegal, and you can sue based on that.
It's a way of saying that they couldn't find anything specific to use against the employee, and are invoking the much more vague (and impossible to act upon) excuse of not being a good "cultural fit."
Think about it. Why aren't they being specific? They could give a hundred different reasons. Maybe you come in late everyday. Maybe your code has too many bugs. Maybe you dress inappropriately to work. Maybe you made a sexist/racist remark to someone and they reported you. Maybe you failed to deliver a project on time. Etc. etc.
But the reason they aren't giving these as reasons is because they aren't true. You are actually a stellar employee, but they don't like you, for whatever reason. So you're being let go. That's what it means to not be a good "cultural fit."