The Goat
Footballguy
So.
For the first time in my life - over 25 years of continual emplyment, I was fired last month. I worked in for a large retail company for 6 years; the specific position I was in for about 4. My job wasn't extremely lucrative, but it was good enough, I didn't have to travel to a major city every day, and got to spend a decent amount of time with my wife and two kids.
The company was drastically changing its business model for the position, which would include more late evenings and weekends. The sales goal also increased drastically. I liked my store, my boss, and my co-workers. As the new fiscal year approached, my boss sat down with me and asked if I wanted to stay in the position. We discussed the way the position was changing, the new demands, etc. We agreed I'd think about it for a month, and then I'd let him know.
At the end of the month, I sat down with him and suggested that he should look for someone new for my position, and I would look for a lateral position inside the store as well as externally. I specifically did this because my position (external sales) is not easy to fill. You can't just hire a cashier, send them to someone's house, and expect them to close sales. We agreed that the transition time would be about six weeks. Three days later, I was informed that I would no longer be employed in 10 days. This gave me no time to find, interview, and be hired for a new position. Once I was terminated, I'd lose my salary, accumulated vacation time, everything.
I approached HR and was told that PA is an at-will state for employment, and that once I resigned, they could end my employment at any time. There was then a debate about whether I resigned or not. I did not sign a letter, did not ever state that I was resigning my employment with the company, none of that.
On my last day of employment, I sent an e-mail to everyone under the sun stating that I was in no way resigining, and requesting a specific reason for my termination. I stated in the e-mail that if I was being terminated because PA was an at-will state, there was nothing further to discuss.
I received an e-mail back from HR that I was being terminated for poor job performance.
Here's the thing: I hit every performance goal that was expected of me. I was given an annual goal of $330k in sales, and sold $290k in 9.5 months, at a sales margin that was also higher than my goal. I was documented one time in six years for poor job performance; that being thirty days before my termination. (Side note: It's difficult to sell home improvement installations in a cold and snowy December.)
Important factoids:
- The market manager, who oversees 12 locations, has a contentuous history with me.
- I was one of the highest-salaried non-managers in the store.
If I was specifically told in an e-mail that the reason for my termination was a reason other than PA being an at-will employment state, is wrongful termination worth pursuing?
For the first time in my life - over 25 years of continual emplyment, I was fired last month. I worked in for a large retail company for 6 years; the specific position I was in for about 4. My job wasn't extremely lucrative, but it was good enough, I didn't have to travel to a major city every day, and got to spend a decent amount of time with my wife and two kids.
The company was drastically changing its business model for the position, which would include more late evenings and weekends. The sales goal also increased drastically. I liked my store, my boss, and my co-workers. As the new fiscal year approached, my boss sat down with me and asked if I wanted to stay in the position. We discussed the way the position was changing, the new demands, etc. We agreed I'd think about it for a month, and then I'd let him know.
At the end of the month, I sat down with him and suggested that he should look for someone new for my position, and I would look for a lateral position inside the store as well as externally. I specifically did this because my position (external sales) is not easy to fill. You can't just hire a cashier, send them to someone's house, and expect them to close sales. We agreed that the transition time would be about six weeks. Three days later, I was informed that I would no longer be employed in 10 days. This gave me no time to find, interview, and be hired for a new position. Once I was terminated, I'd lose my salary, accumulated vacation time, everything.
I approached HR and was told that PA is an at-will state for employment, and that once I resigned, they could end my employment at any time. There was then a debate about whether I resigned or not. I did not sign a letter, did not ever state that I was resigning my employment with the company, none of that.
On my last day of employment, I sent an e-mail to everyone under the sun stating that I was in no way resigining, and requesting a specific reason for my termination. I stated in the e-mail that if I was being terminated because PA was an at-will state, there was nothing further to discuss.
I received an e-mail back from HR that I was being terminated for poor job performance.
Here's the thing: I hit every performance goal that was expected of me. I was given an annual goal of $330k in sales, and sold $290k in 9.5 months, at a sales margin that was also higher than my goal. I was documented one time in six years for poor job performance; that being thirty days before my termination. (Side note: It's difficult to sell home improvement installations in a cold and snowy December.)
Important factoids:
- The market manager, who oversees 12 locations, has a contentuous history with me.
- I was one of the highest-salaried non-managers in the store.
If I was specifically told in an e-mail that the reason for my termination was a reason other than PA being an at-will employment state, is wrongful termination worth pursuing?
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