Fired from job due to a pending felony?

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jtn1987

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I've worked at a nursing home for just a little bit over a year now. On 12/12/09 I got arrested for disorderly conduct and also Bribery of an Official. The bribery charge was a complete misuse of words and the charge should be dropped as soon as I go to court. The main thing is that it's actually a Felony. My job found out about this as soon as I was arrested. I was able to work the next day after I got out of jail - but the following 2 days they did not allow me to work while they were "verifying" through corporate whether not I would be eligible to work with a pending felony. They called me into work yesterday and told me that I was now ineligible to work due to the felony.

I've been hearing from several people that they were not allowed to do that until after I went to court and found out whether or not I was actually a convicted felon or not. I'm supposed to be innocent until proven guilty correct?

Anyways, I go to court on 1/12/2010 and I'm really in a hard spot with everything especially since my job just terminated me for the pending felony. What I need to know is if they can legally do that or not?I've heard of several other employees where I work who have been in similar situations but they did not get terminated like I did.

I'm very confused about the whole situation....it's late right now and I'm very stressed out about everything lately so sorry if I'm rambling on a bit. Any information on this would help me out extremely.

Is it legal for my job to fire me for the pending felony before I've even gone to court?

I had vacation hours saved up throughout the year - is it illegal for them to deny me to cash those hours in prior to termination while they were "verifying" with corporate??

If it is illegal to terminate me as they did due to the pending felony, what can I do about that legally?
 
THey shouldn't be doing anything with a pending charge... the case could be dismissed, rejected by the DA, reduced to a misdemeanor, a whole variety of things. You should start with your HR department and see if you can't work things out.... and get something in writing that clearly indicates the reason you are being let go if you can. If they won't give you anything then make sure you have names of people you talked to.
After that, go find yourself an attorney for a quick consult and see where things lead.
 
I agree with Moose. Contact an employment attorney in Florida. While you do work in an "at-will" state they still have to treat you equally to other employees. If you are sure that other employees in your same position have been treated differently you may have a case. Contact an attorney.
 
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