Should I pursue wrongful termiation? (1 Viewer)

[The Goat]

You and your boss discussed how you job was going to change. He asked if you wanted to stay in the position and gave you some time to think about it. A month later you told him he should get someone else to fill your job and that you would look for another job. You agreed on a transition period of six weeks. You resigned your position.

Pretty simple.

Your argument is similar someone saying, "You requested a transfer to a different department, so that means the same as "I quit.""

There was no misunderstanding between my boss and I as to what was occurring. I didn't want to screw over the store and leave a gaping hole in the position while they sought a replacement, so I suggested they find a more suitable candidate for their needs. While this occurred, I would try to find a lateral position within the company.

Regardless, thank you for your opinion.

That's exactly what I'm saying. People don't just work for an employer they have a specific job. If I hire you as an accountant and you tell me you don't want to be an accountant anymore I have no obligation to move you over to marketing.

Not an apples-to-apples comparison. Remember, this is a retail environment.

Apparently, your former employer disagrees.

No, I'm pretty sure he knows it's a retail environment.

 

[eoMMan]

Dude, it doesn't matter. Your boss could fire you for stinking up the office because you reheated fish in the kitchen microwave.

Get it?

 

[dozer]

It sounds like they wanted to get rid of you and did it in a way that made you feel like you did them a favor.

 

[Christo]

Thanks for the well-wishes...I've already received an offer letter from another company with the opportunity to start next month, which I'm going to accept. It's just infuriating to try to do the right thing by a long-term employer and get stabbed in the back for it.

Thanks for the feedback.

I don't see how you were stabbed in the back.

I went out of my way to make a seamless transition in a sales position that meant a $30k/mo. influx of revenue into the store. I could have (and in retrospect, should have) applied for a different position within the company or just obtained other employment and walked. I didn't. My boss told me he appreciated that, and we agreed to a six-week timeframe. I was terminated less than two weeks later. Are you suggesting I'm being oversensitive?

Yes

 

[The Goat]

Thanks for the well-wishes...I've already received an offer letter from another company with the opportunity to start next month, which I'm going to accept. It's just infuriating to try to do the right thing by a long-term employer and get stabbed in the back for it.

Thanks for the feedback.

I don't see how you were stabbed in the back.

I went out of my way to make a seamless transition in a sales position that meant a $30k/mo. influx of revenue into the store. I could have (and in retrospect, should have) applied for a different position within the company or just obtained other employment and walked. I didn't. My boss told me he appreciated that, and we agreed to a six-week timeframe. I was terminated less than two weeks later. Are you suggesting I'm being oversensitive?

Yes

Aside from your deviation from the actual question at hand, then...I'd really hate to be your accountant.

 

[-fish-]

You want to keep this job? The requirements are changing.

No, find someone else.

Ok. We're going to let you go.

Wait, wat?

 

[Fariq]

Talk to a lawyer...

You certainly have unemployment coming as you did not resign, and can show performance.

I would certainly pay close attention to this issue. If the company terms this a "resignation" for the purposes of unemployment insurance, then I'd definitely go after them. Their email response to you, citing "poor job performance" certainly indicates termination rather than resignation, so that's good for you.

He would receive UI benefits based on what I see in the thread opener, but I also would need to hear the employer's statement.

 

[The Goat]

You want to keep this job? The requirements are changing.

No, find someone else.

Ok. We're going to let you go.

Wait, wat?

To be honest, I think this is the conversation that happened two levels of management above my boss, and the detached reaction from you is enlightening. (That's sincere.)

The conversation between my boss and I was nowhere near this simple.

 

[Christo]

Thanks for the well-wishes...I've already received an offer letter from another company with the opportunity to start next month, which I'm going to accept. It's just infuriating to try to do the right thing by a long-term employer and get stabbed in the back for it.

Thanks for the feedback.

I don't see how you were stabbed in the back.

I went out of my way to make a seamless transition in a sales position that meant a $30k/mo. influx of revenue into the store. I could have (and in retrospect, should have) applied for a different position within the company or just obtained other employment and walked. I didn't. My boss told me he appreciated that, and we agreed to a six-week timeframe. I was terminated less than two weeks later. Are you suggesting I'm being oversensitive?

Yes

Aside from your deviation from the actual question at hand, then...I'd really hate to be your accountant.

You aren't my accountant. You quit.

 

[shadyridr]

Christo, are you that big of an ####### that you feel the need to pile on here?

 

[Christo]

Thanks for the well-wishes...I've already received an offer letter from another company with the opportunity to start next month, which I'm going to accept. It's just infuriating to try to do the right thing by a long-term employer and get stabbed in the back for it.

Thanks for the feedback.

I don't see how you were stabbed in the back.

I went out of my way to make a seamless transition in a sales position that meant a $30k/mo. influx of revenue into the store. I could have (and in retrospect, should have) applied for a different position within the company or just obtained other employment and walked. I didn't. My boss told me he appreciated that, and we agreed to a six-week timeframe. I was terminated less than two weeks later. Are you suggesting I'm being oversensitive?

Yes

Aside from your deviation from the actual question at hand, then...I'd really hate to be your accountant.

You aren't my accountant. You quit.

Plus it's not really a deviation. You asked whether you were wrongfully terminated. There's an argument to be made that you terminated yourself.

 

[-fish-]

You want to keep this job? The requirements are changing.

No, find someone else.

Ok. We're going to let you go.

Wait, wat?

To be honest, I think this is the conversation that happened two levels of management above my boss, and the detached reaction from you is enlightening. (That's sincere.)

The conversation between my boss and I was nowhere near this simple.

this is from your description. your words are unchanged (although I edited out stuff that had nothing to do with whether you accepted the changes to your job or informed them that you would not like to keep your position as it was being changed):

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.

Three days later, I was informed that I would no longer be employed in 10 days.

what did I miss?

 

[The Goat]

Thanks for the well-wishes...I've already received an offer letter from another company with the opportunity to start next month, which I'm going to accept. It's just infuriating to try to do the right thing by a long-term employer and get stabbed in the back for it.

Thanks for the feedback.

I don't see how you were stabbed in the back.

I went out of my way to make a seamless transition in a sales position that meant a $30k/mo. influx of revenue into the store. I could have (and in retrospect, should have) applied for a different position within the company or just obtained other employment and walked. I didn't. My boss told me he appreciated that, and we agreed to a six-week timeframe. I was terminated less than two weeks later. Are you suggesting I'm being oversensitive?

Yes

Aside from your deviation from the actual question at hand, then...I'd really hate to be your accountant.

You aren't my accountant. You quit.

Plus it's not really a deviation. You asked whether you were wrongfully terminated. There's an argument to be made that you terminated yourself.

Regarding the deviation, the question was whether I should go after the employer for wrongful termination. You took the thread off track quickly, became contentious for whatever reason and derailed it completely by post 49.

Regarding me quitting as your accountant, the circumcision scars you display so prominently on your forehead make for a very uncomfortable work environment.

 

[GroveDiesel]

You want to keep this job? The requirements are changing.

No, find someone else.

Ok. We're going to let you go.

Wait, wat?

Could he argue that with the job requirement changing to a substantial degree that his actual position was eliminated and changed to something else? It seems like that would alter the situation in that he didn't resign from his current position but refused to take a different position and was fired for it.

 

[-fish-]

You want to keep this job? The requirements are changing.

No, find someone else.

Ok. We're going to let you go.

Wait, wat?

Could he argue that with the job requirement changing to a substantial degree that his actual position was eliminated and changed to something else? It seems like that would alter the situation in that he didn't resign from his current position but refused to take a different position and was fired for it.

Still isn't wrongful termination

 

[TheAristocrat]

The moment you said someone else should do your job was the point you resigned. They didn't agree to six weeks but very graciously gave you two.

Sorry and I hope you end well but that seems to be the story here.

 

[GroveDiesel]

You want to keep this job? The requirements are changing.

No, find someone else.

Ok. We're going to let you go.

Wait, wat?

Could he argue that with the job requirement changing to a substantial degree that his actual position was eliminated and changed to something else? It seems like that would alter the situation in that he didn't resign from his current position but refused to take a different position and was fired for it.

Still isn't wrongful termination

Correct. I was arguing fired versus resigned.

 

[The Goat]

The moment you said someone else should do your job was the point you resigned. They didn't agree to six weeks but very graciously gave you two.

Sorry and I hope you end well but that seems to be the story here.

Fair enough; there's been enough of this line of thought to make me think that the uncertainty over it would be pointless to pursue. I may bend an attorney's ear, but thanks for the feedback.

And I'll be fine.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

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.

If you're an at-will employee, you can be fired for any reason except for ethnicity, etc., without regard to whether your job performance was poor.

Your best argument would be that, once you were told that you'd have a job for six more weeks, you were no longer an at-will employee, but instead had an employment contract for a definite duration -- six weeks. In that case, if your job performance wasn't actually poor, you might have a case that you were wrongfully terminated four weeks too soon.

Context matters, but I suspect that it would be difficult to succeed in arguing that your conversation with your boss amounted to an offer and acceptance of a six-week employment contract. But if you were going to take a shot at a wrongful termination action, that's the shot I'd take.

 

[Christo]

Thanks for the well-wishes...I've already received an offer letter from another company with the opportunity to start next month, which I'm going to accept. It's just infuriating to try to do the right thing by a long-term employer and get stabbed in the back for it.

Thanks for the feedback.

I don't see how you were stabbed in the back.

I went out of my way to make a seamless transition in a sales position that meant a $30k/mo. influx of revenue into the store. I could have (and in retrospect, should have) applied for a different position within the company or just obtained other employment and walked. I didn't. My boss told me he appreciated that, and we agreed to a six-week timeframe. I was terminated less than two weeks later. Are you suggesting I'm being oversensitive?

Yes

Aside from your deviation from the actual question at hand, then...I'd really hate to be your accountant.

You aren't my accountant. You quit.

Plus it's not really a deviation. You asked whether you were wrongfully terminated. There's an argument to be made that you terminated yourself.

Regarding the deviation, the question was whether I should go after the employer for wrongful termination. You took the thread off track quickly, became contentious for whatever reason and derailed it completely by post 49.

Regarding me quitting as your accountant, the circumcision scars you display so prominently on your forehead make for a very uncomfortable work environment.

Shows what you know. I'm not circumcised.

 

[AAABatteries]

Christo, are you that big of an ####### that you feel the need to pile on here?

Of course he is - he's masturbating right now to this thread and some wooly mammoth looking chick.

 

[bigbottom]

If you sit down with a plaintiff's employment lawyer, the first (multi-part) question they will ask you, after getting past all the niceties, is this: what was your position title, was it an exempt or non-exempt position, and what were your job duties and responsibilities?

 

[Judge Smails]

I can understand you feel like you got the shaft with 2 weeks notice instead of 6. It sucks, and it's a months pay (assuming you got no severance). That being said, the writing was on the wall. You don't get written up unless somebody wants it documented should they want to let you go. I'm writing somebody up tomorrow and I hope he quits first. You may have given them the opening they wanted (pure speculation - I know nothing of the dynamics at your workplace) to let you go when you said you didn't want to continue in the position.

No attorney is going to go after 4 weeks pay in a wrongful termination suit. The math doesn't add up. And based on the fact you told them you didn't want the position + are in an at will state you have no case.

Great to hear you got a new position. Although you are hurt, best to let it go and pour positive energy into making yourself indispensable at your new company. Prove 'em wrong. Good luck.

 

[northern exposure]

True Christo. I bet a lot of employees make the mistake of being too transparent with their employers.

I agree with this. I went through a similar situation a few years back and won't make the same mistake again. In your situation when the employer gave me a month to decide if I could accept the changing parameters of my role, I would have spent that month looking for another job. If I hadn't found one when the month was up, I would have told them I accepted the changes and kept the job until I found a new one. By being too transparent with your employer, you gave them no choice but to let you go.

It is unfortunate things didn't turn out as you would have liked, but I can see no reason to pursue a wrongful termination case against your former employer.

 

[ghostguy123]

Did they stab you in the back? Yes, but you gave them the knife to do it.

You may not have technically resigned, but you also didn't agree to keep your position.

Sucks, but I don't see any way you have a case to sue unless there is a lot more to it that we don't know about.

 

[Otis]

Thanks for the well-wishes...I've already received an offer letter from another company with the opportunity to start next month, which I'm going to accept. It's just infuriating to try to do the right thing by a long-term employer and get stabbed in the back for it.

Thanks for the feedback.

I don't see how you were stabbed in the back.

I went out of my way to make a seamless transition in a sales position that meant a $30k/mo. influx of revenue into the store. I could have (and in retrospect, should have) applied for a different position within the company or just obtained other employment and walked. I didn't. My boss told me he appreciated that, and we agreed to a six-week timeframe. I was terminated less than two weeks later. Are you suggesting I'm being oversensitive?

Yes

Aside from your deviation from the actual question at hand, then...I'd really hate to be your accountant.

You aren't my accountant. You quit.

Plus it's not really a deviation. You asked whether you were wrongfully terminated. There's an argument to be made that you terminated yourself.

I don't think there is anymore. They told him poor performance. They let that ship sail.

 

[Otis]

I've always assumed I could be let go at any moment from any job I've ever taken. I'm not a pro athlete with a contract.

 

[jon_mx]

Is there any employment contract in this case?

 

[Baloney Sandwich]

Can your old boss prove he didn't tell you in order to keep your job you would have to let him blow you? If not, you most definitely have a case.

 

[The Goat]

Can your old boss prove he didn't tell you in order to keep your job you would have to let him blow you? If not, you most definitely have a case.

I didn't like the way this turned out for Kevin Spacey. I'll go a different route.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Is there any employment contract in this case?

Every employee has an employment contract, though it may not be in writing. You ask a good question, though, because my fanciful argument (that the "six weeks" discussion converted him from an at-will employee to one with a contract for a definite duration) becomes even more fanciful if there's a written at-will contract that can't be orally modified.

 

[johnnycakes]

It sucks. Learn from it... should have told them you'd do whatever the job required, then look for a different position. You gave the wrong answer when you discussed how your position was changing.

That said, if you're 40+, you have a shot at age discrimination, but not a good shot.

Beyond that... all I can say is to make lemonade.

 

[Controller]

My two cents worth: Here in California, employees will often take issues like this before the State Labor Board. I'm not sure if PA has an equivalent, but in CA, these Board hearings are generally tilted in favor of the employee, and you probably have enough of a chance at winning to make filing a claim worth it. In CA, in a case like this, you would claim that you have not received your full pay even though you were terminated. The Labor Board would then award you "waiting time penalties" equal to 100% of your daily pay rate, for each and every calendar day that has elapsed since you were terminated. This happened to the company I was working for once, because a terminated employee argued that we should have given him a full month's worth of a cell phone allowance, rather than the 1/2 month we gave him (we terminated him on the 12th of the month). The Labor commissioner ruled against us, and we were ordered to pay the guy several thousand dollars (even though he was seeking less than $50).

In any case, good luck.

 

[Patriotsfatboy1]

... and you want to be my latex salesman?

BTW - some states have to pay you for accrued vacation. Other than that I don't think we are looking at wrongful termination.

 

[Fennis]

I think the move to CA is the best option so far

 

[SWC]

brohan just be happy for what you got and get on with it at the other job and bam be a worker and earn for your family and at the end of the day you can lay down and be proud about that and that is one bit of knowledge from the old swcer bam take that to the bank joe bromaggio

 

[jwb]

It sucks. Learn from it... should have told them you'd do whatever the job required, then look for a different position. You gave the wrong answer when you discussed how your position was changing.

This.

The heck with being nice to an employer and trying to do the right thing. Employers won't. It's a straight, emotionless business deal, with the bottom line always dictating what happens. It should be that way from both sides.

It almost always ends badly for people who think otherwise. If your last name is the same one that's on the sign, there may be some lifetime loyalty. Otherwise, you're a number.

Happy the OP found something else this fast, though.