I was fired from my job. I came to disagreement with one of the managers. The manager told me I could not leave after the time of my shift. I tried to contact my ride to let them know I needed to stay later and the manager yelled at me for using my phone.I had plans to eat with my girlfriend and I was not allowed to call and let her know that I was not going to make it. If I was off at my regular time I would have made it no problem. I told the manager this and she said I am not suppose to be using my phone. Several nights after my shift ended I was told I needed to stay later and I had to be home at a certain time. I explained to the manager I could not stay because I needed to get a key to my apt to get in from my roommate before he went out of town. The manager said to me why dont you go and get another key made. It is illegal for me to go and get another key made. It said so on the key. I was staying at a friends house which is why I did not have a key.I was not home in time to get the key and waited outside of the house for 5hrs until 3am. I had not eaten for 12 hrs so I didnt fall asleep until around 5am.I called in the next morning and explained to the Head manager what all took place and asked if I could come in late because I was exhausted. My shift started at 11am. She said I needed to come in. I was there on time and explained in further detail what all took place and I could hardly keep my eyes open. I asked her if I could leave early and she said I could. When I started to leave at the time she said I could, she said to me "I think we are going to need you to stay". I was sick a couple of days later just from the lack of sleep and being exhausted. I had a fevor and called in to tell them I was sick and they told me I had to come into work. I had a 100 degree fevor. I notified the other manager about all of this and she did nothing. The other manager was out of line with what she said to me. I was yelled at to do stuff after I thought everything was done and she said to me, "go find something". A couple of time when the store was busy in my 6 hour shift, I was suppose to get a 30 minute break. I had to leave right at the end of my shift to get my ride home and I asked the manager if I could leave right at the end of my shift if I do not go on break. The manager said I could leave right at the end of my shift if I didnt take my break. I missed my dinner and when my shift ended she tells me I had to stay later to work. After being yelled at by the manager again, I could not take it anymore. I notified the other manager about the issues and nothing was done. How was I suppose to not be treated like that anymore? I did not show for my next 3 days of work and I sent the Head manager an email regarding all of the issues. I told her what am I suppose to do. I come in and work hard and I get treated like this. I wanted to work there but how could I if that manager was going to keep treating me the same way?The manager asked me what would make things better and I asked if it would be possible to work the shifts where that manager was not there. The Head manager said I should have handled it better and a week later I received my letter in the mail with my letter from Club Monaco telling me I was fired. I worked very hard there and all the other employees would tell you that I did. They will tell you that I was taken advantage of because I would always put in the extra effort.I was never paid extra for staying after to work extra. They were having me stay 30min to an hour after I was suppose to get off work. I started feeling helpless and felt like I was I being treated like some idiot.The one manager who had a problem with me and would say things to me like go do something one day even wrote on a piece of paper here is what your going to do. It was the same thing I did everyday. She didnt give this paper to anyone else.I am not some idiot I thought to myself but it felt like I was being treated like one. Some of the other employees laughed when they saw the piece of paper. Do I have a case for a lawsuit?
Law & Ethics - 9 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Most states are "at will" states meaning you can be terminated for no reason at all. Therefore, no, you do not have a lawsuit.
2 :
Are youy in the US? If so, no, you do not have a basis for a lawsuit. Employment is 'at will', so the employer can terminate you for any reason it wants, and doesn't even have to provide a reason. BTW, I did not (and I doubt anyone WILL) read that whole mass of words. Consider paragraphs next time.
3 :
It depends which state you reside in, most states have laws allowing an employer to fire you for whatever reason they choose. You can Google the laws in your state.
4 :
Once you didn't show up for 3 days, you destroyed any chance of wrongful termination. To begin with, all states except Montana are "at will" employment where you can be terminated any time for any reason. The only time you really have a case is in human rights violations. You won't even qualify for unemployment since you decided not to go in for 3 days.
5 :
Since we only have your version, it's hard to say if you could win, but as long as you have money for the filing fee and service of process, you can sue. Make sure you sue the right person/entity, or all the possible persons/entities. The key to making the case worthwhile to a lawyer is, how much is it worth, and then how likely is it you will win? Next comes, can you recover pain and suffering for employment termination cases in your state? You may find your fellow employees will say you were wrong, since they want to keep their jobs. So much for witnesses. Check your employee file, which you have a right to, probably, under your state law. If it has anything useful, get a copy, preferably certified, from human resources.
6 :
It sounds as though you had a personal conflict with one member of the management team. It doesn't sound like you addressed this with human resource nor did you document or file any paperwork in accordance with the company grievance policy. You failed to follow the steps. In many instances, your employment is "at will". If you followed the policies in line with grievances, you may have something to support a case. Many companies require you to stay past your scheduled shift, but will allow accommodation for you to arrange transportation. It seems you have an excuse not to stay. Then you were "no call" for three days. That alone is grounds for termination. My guess is that there is plenty of documentation on the part of the company, in regards to your performance. Whether it it true or not, it exists. You may try to file a case for unjust termination, but the proof of that falls on you.
7 :
Fire the people you work for as you have noted,they are not fair to you,Or stay and make it just as miserable for her.
8 :
I don't hear any facts to support a wrongful termination lawsuit. However, you may have a viable claim for violation of wage and hour laws. I suggest you confer with a local attorney who can ask you questions about the facts and who will be able to tell you for sure.
9 :
If you don't have a lot of money, try calling legal aid in your area. I do think you should make a case of it at least at the unemployment office if there are difficulties in collecting unemployment. This is not to collect monetary damages, only unemployment. You can represent yourself at such a hearing, and to my knowledge, there is no fee for these types of cases. Emphasize how you tried to reason with not only your manager, but other managers to resolve the issue. The situation sounds abusive, and yes, the unemployment people would take that into consideration in cases where someone has quit or failed to show.
