Believe it or not, even if a state of emergency was declared, your ex-employer could have required you to come in. This is true unless the terms of an employment contract or union agreement provided otherwise. The fact is that, in an "at will" employment relationship, a worker can be fired for any reason or no reason at all, with or without notice. Bottom line, a company can set the conditions of employment much as it sees fit (absent some form of legally actionable discrimination).