Should I Get Legal Council / File A Claim With The Eeoc Because I Was Fired From My Job?
I was fired from my job while in the middle of a human resourses investigation dealing with a harrasment/retailiation claim I made. My boss listed tradies to work the cause of my termination, but never consulted with me in regards to the claim I took up with HR. I think the termination is due to the claim more so than the tardies, but I did have tardies. The VP of Operations (male) did the firing by himself without any one else present in the office and our HR personnel were out of town.He also did not give me an exit interview only 5 min of why they decided to fire me (multiple tardies) and then walked me out of the building. He did not tell me about my insurance, PTO time, or my 401k. It was so quick he didn’t even make sure to collect my company credit card or laptop. I don’t understand the reasons behind why it had to happen so quickly or why HR was not involved. How should one proceed?
Tagged with: Because • Claim • Council • Eeoc • File • Fired • From • Legal • Should • With
Filed under: VP HR
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To put your mind at ease, I would suggest that you consult with a labor attorney who will make your initial meeting (either in person or on the phone) free of charge.
Keep in mind, however, that if you work in a “right to work” state (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho,
Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina,
South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, or Wyoming), both you AND your employer have the right to terminate your employment at any time for any reason. Also, know that the EEOC only provide suggestions on how an employer should handle issues, however, and do not actually enforce them (at least that’s what they told ME when I had my chance with them in a VERY similar issue.
I was advised to chalk it up to experience and move on.
One final word of advice: Get a LETTER of reference from someone there you still know and respect before those ties are severed forever. You may need it to get your next job.
Contact HR to get the information you need. If you feel you can’t, talk with someone at your local Department of Labor….and file for unemployment!
I hope you have a company policy manual – you should check it to see if your termination was according to the termination procedures outlined in your company policy. As well, check to see what constitutes ‘tardiness” in the manual and what are the company procedures. Many companies require at least one or sometimes two written warnings about the employee’s behavior (such as lateness) and usually a timeline for resolving the behavior. If your company policy requires a written warining and you did not receive one, then you have cause.
Regardless of the actual reason for the firing, if tardiness is against the company policy, and the policy states that excessive lateness is cause for termination, then you may not have any recourse if you were in fact in violation of the policy.
Good luck to you.
This is not EEOC related. It’s only EEOC if they fired you for race, religion or anything like that. Multiple tardies is a legitimate reason to fire someone. Most companies don’t do exit interviews for involuntary terminations. If you left on your own, they probably would have. As for witnesses, there is no reason for a witness to be present, companies generally like to do that but don’t have to. As for all your COBRA and 401k information, that will be mailed to you by the benefits and funds managers.
You can certainly request an explanation. But the tardies probably trump your harassment claim.
yes you have rights sue their butts off
prepaidlegal.com/hub/jthowell
In most states, HR does not need to be involved at all – so their absence means nothing, unless it is company policy for them to be involved. The fact that they didn’t collect your laptop or credit card does suggest that they were in a hurry to get you out. I would suggest you contact your local EEOC office – you may have a claim of retaliation. If you can think of other employees who have been tardy and not fired it would help your case.