Any1 have experience or advise on Wrongful Termination Claims?

[ondarkness]

My gf just got terminated.
Her work ethic was positive, productive and all around good.

She has not been written up in her 3+ years there.

Her termination letter states that for the past 12 months she's been dealt with in various ways and that they've "worked" on her performance.

The thing is, none of this is true.

She gets email praises, and is great with her customers but the letter makes is seem the opposite.

The kicker is that her boss is the snake-type that nobody likes, and handles thins in ways that do not seem very appropriate overall.

All of this added up to a Termination letter, with weak reasoning today. This also came a week after my gf sent an email pointing out that the issues that the manager was complaining about were not justified.

We feel that this adds up to wrongful termination. The next step is seeking legal advise.
First I thought I'd ask the AT crew.
Any thoughts?

 

[guyver01]

Originally posted by: ondarkness

Her termination letter states that for the past 12 months she's been dealt with in various ways and that they've "worked" on her performance
...
She gets email praises, and is great with her customers but the letter makes is seem the opposite.

Does your GF have a copy of the 'praises and commendations' ?

most likely they have copies of the writeups they've given her..


the only way to "fight" it i would guess would be to dispute that she's been "written up" for performance issues..

but i would guess you live in an AT-WILL employment state which means "any hiring is presumed to be "at will"; that is, the employer is free to discharge individuals "for good cause, or bad cause, or no cause at all," and the employee is equally free to quit, strike, or otherwise cease work"

so.. good luck.. they can fire her for no reason at all

 

[Chunkee]

your fired!

 

[AlienCraft]

California is an "At Will"state. They don't have to give you a reason to let you go.
Her best defense is to let it go unless you have a bunch of money to pour down a lawyer, who may not ge you anything.
The plus side is it's easier to get a judgement when they lie about her work performance on the reference. That's small claims action.

 

[rudeguy]

what kind of job?

 

[ondarkness]

customer service.
It also feels like the whole "retaliation for being a whistle blower" kinda things.

Just a week ago my gf sent an email requesting to discuss these so called issues that her manager was having, including some higher ups on the email, and HR- this email seemed to just get ignored. There was absolutely no response to it.

 

[rudeguy]

in other words....retail?

 

[Chaotic42]

I know you may not like it, but it could be that your girlfriend is overstating her performance to you. Remember that there are two sides to the story. I've worked with people in the past who really thought that they were great employees, but the rest of us knew how bad they were. They lived in denial.

I'm not saying that's the case here, just that it's a possibility.

 

[ondarkness]

No not retail. It was customer support for an individual sales rep and their region.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft
California is an "At Will"state. They don't have to give you a reason to let you go.
Her best defense is to let it go unless you have a bunch of money to pour down a lawyer, who may not ge you anything.
The plus side is it's easier to get a judgement when they lie about her work performance on the reference. That's small claims action.

this

 

[ondarkness]

Thanks zerocool84.

Im keeping that in mind.
Its really hard to just let it go when its minutes fresh and it so truly came across as inappropriate and more like a scapegoat type of action.

 

[olds]

Paging BoomerD.....

 

[Billb2]

Let it go.....

 

[ondarkness]

Dangit Billb2.... then what's the point of all those protection posters in the lunch room for?
How do cunty lesbian managers get away with inappropriate managment methods and these type of unjust terminations??
Not laid off... not written up, but terminated.

The rest of the office sucks. I've personally worked with them. My chick is the youngest, the most willing to work. This just smells so rotten.

 

[TwiceOver]

Is she a minority? If not, she doesn't have a case.

 

[ondarkness]

nope... =\ white as polish toast.

 

[olds]

Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Pics of gf?

 

[ondarkness]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Pics of gf?

im hoping this pic helps in adding more useful advice on the subject.

 

[bctbct]

IANAL

At will state is good if they just say "dont come back". But if they fabricate stories in retaliation, people usually get called on the carpet for that.

If they have a formal written reprimand procedure and have not done this, and she has proof that she was a "whistle blower", it may be worth a trip to an employment attorney for a free consult.

 

[venkman]

tell her to collect her unemployment and look for a new job

 

[Strk]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft
California is an "At Will"state. They don't have to give you a reason to let you go.
Her best defense is to let it go unless you have a bunch of money to pour down a lawyer, who may not ge you anything.
The plus side is it's easier to get a judgement when they lie about her work performance on the reference. That's small claims action.

While they don't have to give a reason, if they do, they kind of have to be right.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: guyver01

Originally posted by: ondarkness

Her termination letter states that for the past 12 months she's been dealt with in various ways and that they've "worked" on her performance
...
She gets email praises, and is great with her customers but the letter makes is seem the opposite.

Does your GF have a copy of the 'praises and commendations' ?

most likely they have copies of the writeups they've given her..


the only way to "fight" it i would guess would be to dispute that she's been "written up" for performance issues..

but i would guess you live in an AT-WILL employment state which means "any hiring is presumed to be "at will"; that is, the employer is free to discharge individuals "for good cause, or bad cause, or no cause at all," and the employee is equally free to quit, strike, or otherwise cease work"

so.. good luck.. they can fire her for no reason at all

Yes, but if she's fired with cause she likely won't be able to collect unemployment.

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: NSFW
what kind of job?

More importantly wha state? Every state has different labor laws.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Companies rarely terminate someone who is performing well. Tell your GF to suck it up, learn from this experience, and do better at her next job.

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Paging BoomerD.....

You rang?


Being an at-will state, there would have to be very mitigating circumstances before your girlfriend could win any sort of "Wrongful Termination" case.

They're perfectly legal in firing her because they don't like the color of her hair, the cut of her clothes, or the smell of her perfume. They can fire her if her performance of her duties was horrible, if it was mediocre, or if she was the best dammed customer service rep in the company.

HOWEVER, they can NOT fire or discriminate against her for any of the "protected classes" of employment, such as her race, religion, national origin, if she gets hurt at work and files workman's compensation, if she votes for a union, (she just can't do union business on company time...that she can be fired for) and (theoretically) she can't be fired for being over 45 years of age.

Those are all protected classes that she couldn't be fired over or discriminated against in employment...BUT, the reality is, she COULD be fired and/or discriminated against for ANY of those reasons, as long as the boss/HR department is smart enough to NOT actually USE those reasons. Sadly, it happens all the time in business. Proving that she was fired for any of those reasons falls on her to prove.

Sorry...it sux, but that's the way it works here in Kahleeforneeya.


Obviously, there are some exclusions & exemptions to all this, and what I've posted is a very simplified version of a complex set of employment laws, but Kahleeforneeya IS an at-will state...and from what little information we've been given, that is what will count. The good news is that she'll PROBABLY be eligible for unemployment unless she was fired for "cause" that usually goes beyond the reasons you have listed.