Possible Retaliation

[HRworker34]

Jurisdiction

Washington

Hello,

I was just terminated from a human resources role within the federal government over accusations that I had lost a lot of money for the group over mistakes I had made over the past couple years. The mistakes that they brought up during the meeting were not mistakes that I mad made (one was a vendor mistake, and one was a mistake made by my manager at the time). I did state this during the meeting, and they said there were several other mistakes, but could not name any. I also know there is sufficient documentation on file that I did not make the mistakes they claimed, and I'm certain the rest were fabricated if they exist.

That being said, this conveniently happened 2 days after I went to my manager with a concern that our VP of HR was being inappropriate with one of our young, female, HR staff. My previous manager had several issues with him attempting to have an affair with her (which several employees have direct knowledge of, saw the texts, etc). She stated that I should wait for our HR Business Partner to return from his vacation, and talk to him about it. Unfortunately, I never had the chance since I was terminated before being able to speak with him.

Also, I found out from a former coworker that after I was let go, he gathered the team and let them know that no one had to worry about being fired, that they would be alerted to the fact they were under performing far before anything happened and placed on a PIP, and that I was terminated immediately because I lost the business a lot of money.

My question is if I should suck it up and move on, or pursue a wrongful termination case. I have no proof the conversation happened with my manager 2 days ago, although I do have a text thread with a coworker the same day that covered my concern. I'm also concerned about my reputation with him telling my former coworkers that I lost a lot of money for the business. It absolutely did not happen, and I'm sure they have nothing to substantiate that claim, but I obviously can't obtain all my old email threads to prove I wasn't at fault for whatever they might claim.

I just don't want to waste time going through the EEOC & OSHA complaints if it will end up being a waste of time due to lack of documentation, and a lot of he-said, she-said. My best guess is that I'm out of luck, but figured I'd seek outside advise.

 

[adjusterjack]

You ratted out a VP. Ouch. Kiss of death.

Suck it up. File for unemployment and seek employment elsewhere.

 

[Tax Counsel]

Ok, I'm a bit confused about your facts. You said that you were terminated from a "human resources role in the federal government" but then refer to the manager saying you were fired "because I lost the business a lot of money". That latter statement, and several other statements you made suggest you were employed by a private company, not the federal government. It's critical to know who YOUR employer was — a federal agency, or a private company. And if it was a federal agency, were you a civil service employee or civil service exempt? These are critical distinctions because the rules and remedies are different depending on the status of your employer.

 

[Tax Counsel]

I'll add this. If you worked for a private employer then your termination is only wrongful (and thus illegal) if the reason for your termination was because:

• of your race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, etc) national origin, citizenship, age, disability, or genetic test information under federal law (some states/localities add a few more categories like marital status, veteran status, etc);
• you make certain kinds of reports about the employer to the government or in limited circumstances to specified persons in the employing company itself (known as whistle-blower protection laws);
• you participate in union organizing activities;
• you use a right or benefit the law guarantees you (e.g. using leave under FMLA);
• you filed a bankruptcy petition;
• your pay was garnished by a single creditor; and
• you took time off work to attend jury duty (in most states).

The exact list of prohibited reasons will vary by state.

You said that you think the reason was that you were terminated because you "went to my manager with a concern that our VP of HR was being inappropriate with one of our young, female, HR staff." If that's true, and you can prove it, then that would be a wrongful termination. However, the company's story is that you were fired because you were responsible for the company losing money. If that was truly the reason for termination, it is not illegal.

The timing of the termination is helpful to you. If the real reason the employer had for terminating you was your report about the inappropriate behavior then it was stupid of the employer to terminate so soon afterwards. The employer would have been on safer ground to wait a bit and see if you make a mistake and then fire you for that. Dredging up old mistakes to justify a termination right after making a protected report to your management is not a good look for the company.

So if it was private employment, file your claim with the EEOC with 180 days after your termination (300 days if the state and EEOC have an agreement coordinating investigations of the kind of wrongful termination involved) and do what you need to do to file a complaint with the state if the state also prohibits discrimination based on sex. You need to take those steps first before you can go to court. I would advise you to see a lawyer who handles wrongful termination cases ASAP if you want to pursue it. That's the best way to know if you have a good claim. If you do, then the lawyer can ensure your agnecy complaint tracks the evidence and will stand up to the attack the employer's attorney will launch against you.

 

[HRworker34]

You ratted out a VP. Ouch. Kiss of death.

Suck it up. File for unemployment and seek employment elsewhere.

You're not wrong. This is the second college grad he'd done this to, and i felt sick sitting back and watching it the first time without sticking up for her.

 

[HRworker34]

Ok, I'm a bit confused about your facts. You said that you were terminated from a "human resources role in the federal government" but then refer to the manager saying you were fired "because I lost the business a lot of money". That latter statement, and several other statements you made suggest you were employed by a private company, not the federal government. It's critical to know who YOUR employer was — a federal agency, or a private company. And if it was a federal agency, were you a civil service employee or civil service exempt? These are critical distinctions because the rules and remedies are different depending on the status of your employer.

It's a branch of the federal govt. I managed their leave of absence, and workers compensation program. The money loss referred to was due to a vendor filing a late claim, causing an over payment management decided not to recover. The other money loss case they brought up was a case where my manager at the time forgot to ask me to code someone as unpaid, and so we overpaid them for several months. In this case they did recover the funds, but they're now claiming I was asked verbally to code him, and I didn't.

BTW, we are civil service exempt employees.

The fact that I can't prove that I went to my manager pretty much eliminates my options, although I do have several witnesses to the fact that the claims they are making around the loss of money were not my doing. Would I be able to go the reputational route since he went to my team afterwards claiming that's the reason behind my termination?