Booting a fired co-worker from a league (mid-season, didnt pay) (1 Viewer)

[Short Corner]

That’s what I’m wondering. 

He specifically called that out, which really raises that question. 

Maybe he got fired for beating his boss. If I were him, that’s probably what I’d be telling an employment attorney right about now. 

Yeah.  I think this action exposes the company more than it insulates it.  If you want to cultivate vindication from a former employee this isn't a bad place to start.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

Yeah.  I think this action exposes the company more than it insulates it.  If you want to cultivate vindication from a former employee this isn't a bad place to start.

Exactly.

and to clarify (because we have some very literal people here) I meant the above only as a hypothetical example. I, personally, would not immediately run to an employment attorney with a claim of wrongdoing. If I ever got fired for anything (I haven’t) you can bet your #### I’d have earned it.  

 

[Ghost Rider]

total **** move

This. 

 

[Neil Beaufort Zod]

Question. I think these kinds of threads can be helpful and interesting. But they are the commissioner equivalent of "who should I start?". 

What do you guys think about allowing commissioners to use the Shark Pool for a "Here's what happened in my league - what do you guys think we should do?" type questions?

Edit - added a poll question here https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/topic/772100-commisssioner-what-would-you-do-questions-in-the-shark-pool/

I think you have a good point. I would only add that WDIS would take over the forum if not relegated to its own section. They would be the algae in the Shark Pool.
These types of threads are pretty rare, so I don't know if they deserve enough attention to be monitored closely. Once in a blue moon an interesting one comes up and people share ideas. Overall they don't seem to be an issue. Just my opinion.  

Edit: I just saw in the poll thread where you said these get removed by staff, so we only see them here "once in a blue moon." Considering that they're not as rare as I thought, I'd be inclined to agree with you (especially since you know how often they come up). Thanks for the info. 

 

[voiceofunreason]

So I'm in a semi-competitive work league. Nothing crazy ($100 buy in, mix of people that are serious, semi-serious and some that are just in it for the banter) but its fun. I dont actually work in the department anymore but I (along with a few other people that used to) still play in the league.

On Wednesday, one of the members of the league was fired from the company. Apparently this person was on thin ice for a while and they finally decided to let them go. The team was 8-0 going into this week (mostly thanks to Mahomes,  4th in points. The rest of their team really isn't anything special)

On Sunday morning, the owner went to set up their team, only to find that the commissioner had locked them out of the league.  His reasoning was that "having them still in it creates an awkward situation".   Plus, it turns out that they hadn't paid their entry fee (not uncommon in this league. Usually the non-money winners end up paying at the end. A big pet peeve of mine, btw. I paid at the draft)

Normally, I would say that locking them out of a league was a HUGE **** move. You're basically taking away the chance at a decent payday for someone that you just fired (commish wasn't this person's direct manager, but probably had some input in the firing) But when you consider that they didnt pay, I feel like its MAYBE justified..

 My thoughts are just to have them somehow pay via pay-pal or Venmo now (to avoid the awkward situation of having to meet with them to pay) and just let them finish out the year. If they dont want to do that, then the commish (whose team is in last) should just run it for the rest of the year (with the prize money going towards an end of the year bar tab or something if they win) 

Thoughts?

The commish is a pos. Watch your back at the office.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Exactly.

and to clarify (because we have some very literal people here) I meant the above only as a hypothetical example. I, personally, would not immediately run to an employment attorney with a claim of wrongdoing. If I ever got fired for anything (I haven’t) you can bet your #### I’d have earned it.  

Most states have "at will" employment meaning you can be fired for any reason (or no reason) at all provided it's not discriminatory or otherwise illegal.

 

[Short Corner]

Most states have "at will" employment meaning you can be fired for any reason (or no reason) at all provided it's not discriminatory or otherwise illegal.

That's actually not true.  You can be fired for a variety of reasons, many of which could be pretty sophomoric but you can't be fired for any reason.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

That's actually not true.  You can be fired for a variety of reasons, many of which could be pretty sophomoric but you can't be fired for any reason.

Sure it is - in an "at will" state no reason needs to be given at all. There are exceptions, which I said, but generally speaking an employer holds the cards.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

Most states have "at will" employment meaning you can be fired for any reason (or no reason) at all provided it's not discriminatory or otherwise illegal.

While that is correct, it neither protects nor absolved an employer from claims of retaliation or other forms of discrimination. 

If the employee claimed that he was given a bad review & subsequently terminated for cause in bad faith  over intra-company gambling where he beat his manager & his manager’s manager, that could be basis for a wrongful termination claim. 

Very likely a company would settle to make it go away quietly rather than allowing such a suit to go to court

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

That's actually not true.  You can be fired for a variety of reasons, many of which could be pretty sophomoric but you can't be fired for any reason.

doc is correct in that an At Will employment status does mean “any reason”, but it won’t protect the company if that reason violates someone’s rights or constitutes targeted harassment,  discrimination or retaliation. 

In this instance, the employee who was fired could make a claim that any reason the company gave for firing him was merely cover for retaliation.

that said, we don’t know the details - if it were truly for cause - like, he was caught on camera stealing; if he was chronically late, or told a customer to go F themselves - something with evidence, then the employee would have no ground to stand on.

but if it was simply a bad performance review that led to termination, a wrongful termination claim could easily be made. 

My mother spent 40 years in HR as a director, so I’ve heard lots of stories. And as I understand it, even in an at-will state, the system is largely set up to protect the employee. 

 

[Short Corner]

doc is correct in that an At Will employment status does mean “any reason”, but it won’t protect the company if that reason violates someone’s rights or constitutes targeted harassment,  discrimination or retaliation. 

so it doesn't mean any reason

 

[Deamon]

Would the Commish have locked his team if he was 0-8?

Real D move.

I know there's lots of 'burn the witch!" people in here but I find it very unlikely that he was only kicked out because of his record.  Or that, as someone else suggested, he was fired because of his fantasy record.

I don't agree with the move but this sounds like a messy firing where there is a lot of animosity and awkwardness towards and/or from this individual.  The work situation sounds messy and if it's a work sanctioned league with the company name in the title and maybe a trophy with the company name and a live draft they hold, etc (we don't know all the details), then it might be a bit more complex than that.  Not sure what to have done there though.  Again I'd probably leave him in the league and cut all ties between the league and the company until next year.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

so it doesn't mean any reason

 Correct. It must be a valid reason, and without mitigating circumstances. 

 So while true that you can be terminated for any reason, it is not literally any reason.  There are still reasons that would be illegal or illegitimate for a company to terminate you. 

 And that doesn’t even count include the union environment, where there may be contractual Issues:

 

[tackle for loss]

How did this guy become commish and how is this commish still in good physical condition after this?
This is the worst type of commish and he is the reason why we cant have nice things.

 

[-OZ-]

Very important to note, because some leagues are very strict on this point and some leagues are not. People will come into this thread and harp on "didn't pay" ... but in this particular case, the "didn't pay" thing has no weight at all because it was never a hard requirement in the OP's league.

With this in mind, #### move.

 

[domvin]

Like everyone else said, pos move.    Constructive discharge from a ff league 

Some options

Tell the Cornish you are gonna reach out to the guy and get the dues.   If he's cool with it, then Go to the fired guy, and since he has no money coming in, offer a split.   Pay the dues, get the team freed up, hope he wins, split the pot.......then leave the league.   

Still have not seen a resolution offered by the commish.   It's just a ghost team, and any money won gets sp,it up?

Large corps do all kinds of shady stuff, so this is really not surprising sadly.

 

[Chaka]

Update?

@TLEF316