every one works with or has worked with a toxic person/people (you may be the toxic person) they drain morale and productivity. removing those people is a must. sadly government bureaucrats who make regulations think otherwise.
http://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/toxic-co-workers-legal-right-jerk-work.html/?ref=YF&yptr=yahoo
I support people having the right to be jerks in their personal life but not in a place of work where people are there to earn income and you do not get to choose your co- workers.
I would still fire these people, I would not tell them they are toxic of course just terminate. (harder to do in some states like New York)
I have never worked for a private employer that was in the least constrained about firing anyone at all.
Who gets to decide who’s toxic (and what “toxic” even means) is the problem.
@zobroward I don’t think that’s really what the decision says. The links in the article basically take you nowhere useful so I cannot pull up the decision to actually read the language. But based on the following language in the article I think the decision addresses something different than what you posted:
[quote]
Essentially, the NLRB is saying that employers can’t dictate how their employees act and feel all the time. Obviously, if you’re consistently acting like a jerk and proving to be a real impediment to productivity, your employer is going to take steps to neutralize the threat. But to ask that everyone always maintain a smile and cheery attitude?
That’s just not going to fly. This may be a small win for your toxic co-workers, but it’s also good news for everyone else. Everyone has a bad day from time to time, and keeping up a cheery facade isn’t easy. This decision offers a bit of protection from any undue retaliation./quote
Marvin, it is like porn - hard to describe, but you know when you run into one. 
I don’t know what you’ve heard, @BunsenBurner , but I assure you I have no idea what you’re talking about
I am a consultant who has worked on 6 month - 2 year contracts for over 30 years on site with companies. I have seen a LOT of these people. Many times they are lower level people who have a “fiefdom” – skills or knowledge that are pretty irreplaceable for their employers. Sometimes they are high up the ladder – ruthless people who got to the top by stepping on others. They rule through fear & intimidation. A couple times I worked in departments where almost everyone was toxic – they had congregated, and fed off each others’ bad behavior. It became the norm, and no one inside could see how bad it was. Like the frog in the pot of water…
I know of very few private companies that fire with ease. when the company I work for fires someone which is very uncommon , we struggle with the choice and worry if we are making the correct decision. lucky for me I do not have to decide…because I feel sorry for everyone and a business is run to make money and people who are a drag on the system in any manor should go. (I get that, it is just not something I have in my personality to do) I do HR so I know in advance that it will happen and I actually get teary eyed sometimes.
p.s. I also dislike sports, frats and any forms of violence…you can say I am not a manly man.
Or one might say the opposite. 
It would be very hard to fire someone who occassionally was toxic, but someone who routinely was can be fired, but it is not something you do on the spot in most companies. You have to document what they are doing and the effect on other people, and you also have to give them a chance to ‘change their behavior’. The reason for this is to make sure it isn’t just a spur of the moment thing, or something illegal. Obviously, also varies by what company you work for and where, also depends on who the worker is where gender, national origin, religion and other factors could make it more difficult because of fears of it being reported as being based on those, hence documenting behavior.
musicprint you are correct about fearing the minefield of gender, race, religion , age etc…(when it is applicable)
but as a great employment attorney said at a lecture I was at …run your business as a business and do what you need, do not keep bad people on board because you fear a lawsuit. He said of course dot your i’s and cross your t’s but do what you need. ( he also said it is easier to say that from the outside than be the one doing it)
if a lawsuit comes you cross that bridge when you get to it.(paraphrasing of course) other employees of the same background who often times are the people who feel the most stress from the “toxic” person will be happy they are gone and my privately thank you once they are.
I agree who needs the stress/negativity at work? I get enough of that at home! and the junior high petty stuff also drives me nuts.
My former boss was toxic. I had been there over 20 years before that boss came in and I was “downsized” within the year. I couldn’t quit because I knew they were giving out severance packages and mine was almost a full year’s salary. After about 3 months under this person’s tenure, I went on anti-depressants for the first time ever. The day after my last day on the job, I stopped taking them and 10 years later, have never resumed. I still keep in touch with my former colleagues. Many have left due to this boss but nobody will do anything. I am going to yet another good bye party in a couple of weeks for another person who has just given up.
bosses can be toxic no doubt. being a boss is difficult and it brings out the worst in many people.
I agree that being a boss can be difficult. When I was first starting out, my second boss, who was an amazing man who truly advocated for his employees, tracked me and wanted me to go into administration. It would have meant leaving the courtroom, which I love and where I thrived, and doing tasks I had little interest in. I went along for a bit, learning how to do interviewing, sort through resumes, evaluate employees and prepare reviews, but I ultimately decided that management and being a boss is not for me. I hate number crunching and preparing spread sheets and statistics and I really detest dealing with bureaucracy. 30 years later, I don’t regret my choice, although I do plan to interview for the position of managing the support staff when the person who holds that position retires.
I just observed a toxic employee at a restaurant. she was going after everyone who worked there, it was quiet I could hear it. (nasty,rude complaining)and very unprofessional.