Fired - Told one reason, company claims another

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Agirlygirl

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My jurisdiction is: California

On July 15, 2009, I was led into the conference room for a meeting about my sales numbers. I had been told we'd be having this meeting throughout the day. It was just myself and my supervisor. She begins to ask me several questions about a particular incident which resulted in a large overstock of product and a large bill from our vendor, and after 5 to 10 mins, she informs me that she has to fire me. The company president has been discussing with her all day and she (my supervisor) had been trying to save my job, even coming to tears. She explained to the president that projects she liked and supported were spearheaded by me, but this did not change her mind. She made reference to an incident that took place in January (of which I was not at fault) that resulted in our company getting fake checks and losing product, and said because of this incident and the other (6 months apart) I was being fired. The vendor sent us a report saying we owed them 90k, 21k of which was past due, 60k being from the overstock incident, the remainder coming up due. (Please note, I was not responsible for payments to the vendor. I had not been made aware of the past due amount until approx. 2.5 wks prior to the firing, at which time I told my supervisor, who was supposed to be handling paying vendors.) Her explanation was that this report had to be explained to a shareholder, and I could not keep my job. She went on to say that she's sorry, she tried to save me, and that the president would not be reasoned with, but that she would give me a glowing recommendation.

That same day I applied for unemployment. I had my phone interview one month later, during which I gathered, from the questions I was being asked, that the company was not being forthright with details. The rep questioning me gave me attitude when I explained I was fired over a large vendor bill (she asked & I told her my job did not include making payments to the vendor.) saying, "well how is that your fault?" and growing increasingly annoyed when I tried to explain (the questions she was asking required some explanation, as her follow up questions showed she had no idea what my job function was.) Later that week, I received a benefits denial letter. The company has claimed that I was not performing my job duties as required, and that I additionally attempted to hide this fact from my employers.

I am appealing this, as had I not done my job, there would have been no movies released from June 2008 through July 2009, as my job was to steer the entire process from finished filming to street date, as well as, for the last 7 months, to sell the DVDs. Had I not sold any DVDs, I would not have earned any commission. There was no way to hide sales, as my supervisor has access to the sales reports, which I could not alter at all. As well as these accusations all being new to me, as I was told I was fired for something else.

It's a small industry where everyone talks. I do not trust my former company, I did not trust them while I worked there. The manner in which I was fired - told it was a sales meeting, told it was over money owed a vendor, not having a 3rd party in the meeting, not having any documentation for me to sign acknowledging reasons I was fired, etc.- has raised questions with several friends in HR (at other businesses) and they're suggesting I seek legal advice. The result of this denial, for reasons which I have never heard before, have now put me one month behind in bills and accruing late fees and I had to move out of my apt due to cost.

Other information: This company does not have a formal HR department. When I had an issue, I would bring it to the attention of my supervisor, who would often reply with "you can always go work some where else. Good luck finding a job in this economy though." When I had an issue with my supervisor, I had no one to talk to, as she is friends with the execs and they all band together. They also did not keep information confidential - I know this because I was privy to their gossip when they felt I was good enough to be included. The company has all of my notes, so any questions I get from unemployment, I'm making a best guess from memory, often for events that occurred months ago.

Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated. I have former customers who have offered to speak on my behalf if needed, as well.
 
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