Wrongful Termination?

[WTRanger]

Is anyone familiar with wrongful termination laws or have some advice on this? Basically, a few months ago I was laid off from my job for "lack of work" for the company. Yes, the economy had hit us hard. Yes, we were definitely seeing a slow down in the work we had coming in. However, with the small amount of work we did have I always had something scheduled to work on. I almost never had downtime.

 

One of the company's golden children, on the other hand, was always open and never had scheduled work. But this person played poker with the bosses, bought the bosses lunch, and basically kissed all the right ass.

 

So I get let go for "lack of work" but it wasn't because I had lack of work. I had to be let go so my work could be transferred over to the golden child. So would I have a case? I know in these times there are laws set up to protect workers even in a case of a lay off, but it has to be a blatant case.

 

I do have records of my schedules, my time sheets and as well as the daily email that was sent out by the scheduler in the company that said who was available for work and who wasn't. I also have copies of all of my reviews, including the last one which was one of the highest reviews ever given to an employee. So it's not like I was a poor worker either. I think the problem was, I went to work, worked hard, did my job and went home. I really didn't play into the office politics game, which these days seems crucial to keep your job.

[curiousnycgirl]

As unfair as it is, the answer is no. Life is clearly not fair, and this is a great example of that.

 

The law (at least in the US) does not even require a company to provide severance - that is something companies do out of their sense of responsiblity and can change without notice.

 

What you have described is not somehing that could be definitively proven -and unfortunately you need to just let it go. Dwelling on it will not help you at all, in fact in the long run it will bring you down.

 

The good news is that if what you typed is true, you would probably get glowing recommendations from management, because they will feel guilty.

 

Best of luck to you.

[Thaddeus]

It really depends on your jurisdiction, but in most cases organizations don't need a reason to let anyone go. "Termination without cause" is what they call it and it usually requires some sort of severance package based on your years of service.

 

See a lawyer before you sign anything.

 

As for this:

I think the problem was, I went to work, worked hard, did my job and went home.

... there was a time that being devoted and hard-working and loyal and all the rest actually mattered. But those days are gone. The organizations that will let people go for no reason whatsoever are the very same ones that whine and moan that employees arent' loyal anymore and it's very difficult to get good people. Irony rules.

[2sure]

Sorry, no. Especially if they "laid you off" instead of firing you outright and trying to void any unemployment you may be entitled to.

[WTRanger]

Well, I didn't get a severance package. In fact in the last 2 years all 67 employees who were laid off didn't receive squat. I made it through 5 rounds and was taken in the 6th. All lay offs happened without warning, but there were never enough people at once to consider it a mass lay off. Which in a mass lay off you are required by law to provide warning before the actual lay off happens. When I was laid off, the head accounting person decided to jump ship as well. That's not a good sign when the one person who sees the books daily and really knows the financial health of the company decides that unemployment is better than working there.

 

The thing is, even in an "at will" work state such as where I was there are still laws that protect the worker. The boss can't come in one day and fire everyone just because he has blue balls from the night before. However, after talking to a family friend who is an attorney that is now specializing in employment law (apparently it's booming). He told me that while I do have the grounds to file a case as there is a distinct argument you can stand on, ultimately it would go down to the jury. It's a I said you said type of case. You could get a jury sympathetic to the cause or you could get one that doesn't see it that way. For me, it's not worth the risk. Because at best dealing with the system this case probably wouldn't go to court (and it would as this company has a history of fighting) until mid to late 2010 if not early 2011. So really, it's not worth it in the long run.

 

This company already has at least 2 wrongful termination suits against them that are scheduled to go to court. One of them is that they "laid off" several girls who were on maternity leave. What they did is terminate their positions, so they could get rid of them without directly violating the family leave act. However, the law states that if you terminate a position that you cannot hire that position back for 2 years. What this place did is hire someone for the exact same position but with a fancy new title. It skirts the law and jumps a loophole. So at least one of them, if not all, are currently suing. In a nutshell, if you were pregnant you never came back to work.

 

Life is clearly not fair, and this is a great example of that.

 

I don't agree that life is really unfair. Sure, this situation sucked fat balls at the time. At times several of us now "ex" employees will get together for beers and rant. However, now that time has passed it has opened up an opportunity for me that I wouldn't have had if I had stayed employed. It was something I had always wanted to do, but didn't have the time. I also take satisfaction in that since they got rid of all of the workers and kept only the ass-kissers, the ego's at that place are tearing it apart. I've heard it's absolute hell to walk in there, despite only a small number of employees left. You can just feel the tension. That's what happens when all you have are Chief's and no Indians left. The ego's won't let anyone do work, they all have to be in charge. So in that case me being let go, while sh*tty at the time, has saved me a ton of drama in the long run as well as opening up an opportunity for me to reach a life goal I had thought was dormant.

 

So really, life is what you make of it. You can turn a bad situation into good. It just takes hard work and a, "I'll show you motherf*ckers attitude."

 

PS. You can still collect unemployment even if you are fired. The only way a firing voids any unemployment is if you are fired for stealing from the company, sexual anything, or assault of any kind. If you are just a lazy slob, you can still collect after being fired.

[Thaddeus]

This company already has at least 2 wrongful termination suits against them that are scheduled to go to court. One of them is that they "laid off" several girls who were on maternity leave. What they did is terminate their positions, so they could get rid of them without directly violating the family leave act.

Just so you know, this sort of sh*t happens all the time. In the vast majority of cases, the offending company never ends up in court because they'll just drag the legal process out over a long, long period of time, wearing out the plaintiff both mentally and financially. Few individuals have the financial resources to take a large organization to court unless their lawyer works pro bono.

 

Funny, too, how employers can do all sorts of background checks on potential employees, such as employment references, credit checks and checks to see if the potential employee has ever been arrested/convicted (and, to be clear, the potential employer SHOULD have that right). But a potential employee is never given access to records that may show whether the employer has been involved in wrongful dismissal suits. It's all under the guise of "privacy information" and can - and does - hide a multitude of sins.

[Blackfrost]

PS. You can still collect unemployment even if you are fired. The only way a firing voids any unemployment is if you are fired for stealing from the company, sexual anything, or assault of any kind. If you are just a lazy slob, you can still collect after being fired.

 

This is not entirely true. The only way you can collect unemployment after being fired, is, if the company that fired you does not contest the unemployment. I have been through this with a few employees who have been fired. Some get it, some don't. It doesn't have to always be a gross misconduct violation to be denied unemployment by your previous employer.

[sugarmomma]

I worked in HRM for many years and it sounds like they were within their rights to term you. Its unfortunate but it sounds legal.

[sally4sara]

There really isn't much real protection for workers without unions. And it has even gotten to where you cannot trust your union rep all that much these days.

If you work for a company with an HR rep, you're bound to get screwed. They will make sure anything and everything becomes documented in such a way that covers their butt.

You could just be gassy one day but it will be presented as purposeful assault on the staff by way of methane gas. In this economy, they never have a shortage of other employees who need to keep their job so much that they will sign corroborative statements of witnessing said methane gas assault. And family always wins out if the company practices nepotism.

I've learned to watch out for these things. I had a job where immediately after I started, the person I was assisting was targeted in this manner. I didn't know them well enough to know how much of their attitude was just who they were and how much was simple reaction to knowing they were getting ran out of their job. They annoyed me and I knew I stood to get their position.

I got the position and thought I had a good rapport with my boss and their HR rep. BOY, was I wrong. The moment I was eligible for a raise, I couldn't sneeze without getting written up. I really started to think maybe I was bad at my job, but the harder I tried they less they would do their part and the worse I looked for not being able to cover everything. I tried to file for unemployment and they had all these events that never happened documented with the co-worker who was always struggling to support her and her child on her wage, as their witness corroborating. It didn't matter what I had to say about it.

Two days after my last day, they had someone to step in, the same way I had before for just shy my own wage.

Never trust your employer.

[sugarmomma]

 

PS. You can still collect unemployment even if you are fired. The only way a firing voids any unemployment is if you are fired for stealing from the company, sexual anything, or assault of any kind. If you are just a lazy slob, you can still collect after being fired.

 

Not sure what state you live in, but not true in my state.

[Art_Critic]

Are you saying that you had a guaranteed job and all you had to do was come in and work ?.. Contract ?

 

Companies fall on hard times.. while you may have had work, the company must of been having trouble making ends meet and it those cases cuts are made.

 

You did say that someone in the know of the books jumped ship. do you think they jumped ship because there was tons of work and profit for everyone.. or maybe because the writing is on the wall and more cuts are coming ?

 

Last November I had to let go an employee that have been at my company for almost 18 years..

We had to make cuts because of lack of sales and work.

He did his job each day and was a good employee but honestly we had no choice.

 

In your situation I would think that all the things happening in your old company would be a good gauge as to why you were let go.

In 2 years 67 people have been laid off.. Were they wrongfully laid off ?

 

By the way.. when we lay someone off here in this state we have to file whether or not that position is being absorbed into the company or will be re-hiring in the future.

This changes the strength of many legal issues that may arise.. such as wrongful termination cases..

It is a hard case to argue if the position that someone occupied is no longer there... it goes to show that the company did the layoff for company reasons rather than under the table personal issues.

 

It sounds to me that you were a victim of the poor economy and their business struggling with their sales..

Sorry..

[Trialbyfire]

I don't know if your jurisdiction is similar to mine but there are two ways to lay people off. One is with severance pay in lieu of notice and another is a given notice period of termination and no severance.

 

If someone is being fired with cause, this is a different EI code and there's def. no severance pay or notice period.

[Mary3]

Welcome to the year 2009 where mass layoffs are common. You would have to stand in line with the 5 million unemployed to complain..

[amerikajin]

I think it's a bad idea to go after a former employer unless you know they've screwed you over and you know that the bridge is already burned, and they'll usually be prepared for that anyway. You might possibly get the employer's insurance company to settle out of court, but that's certainly not a given. If you take a former employer to court, your name will be mud. Future employers will stay away from you if they find out you took your last one to court. The best thing to do is try to leave gracefully.

[dunstable]

Which State are you in? You need to find out the laws of your State relating to wrongful dismissal. You may be able to find out online or you may need to consult an attorney to see if you have a case. You might be able to find a business or legal forum in which lawyers answer questions (in the hope of picking up business).

 

Your employer can certainly lay off employees because the company was short of work. You seem to feel you were discriminated against because your time sheets show you were busy when other employees were slack. While sympathizing with you, that may or may not be a case in law. Good luck.

[Star Gazer]

Assuming you're at-will, in most states I know of, wrongful termination requires a wrongful (i.e., illegal) purpose behind the adverse employment action... i.e., the employer must have terminated the employee (1) because of/based upon his/her race, gender, religion, creed, or some other legitimately protected class, or (2) in retaliation for engaging in a protected activity (e.g., reporting a health and safety code violation, or complaining about sexual harassment).

 

There is nothing illegal about a boss being a jerk, or simply deciding to keep someone they like and are friends with, over someone else, particularly in times of layoff. It's just the way the cookie crumbles.