Christine B.
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- Florida
I was recently terminated by my employer without cause. The severance offered was the month of January's commission ($2600) along with one month's pay (roughly $12k gross). As the only Salesperson, I had just signed and began to on-board the largest client landed to-date, which would have paid out commissions at roughly $30k in 2023. The timing of the termination is questionable, as the key objective for 2023 is to increase margin, and as no one else will receive these commissions, it seems a large benefit to the company to be able to pocket that money rather than payout the salesperson.
Additionally, I had recently voiced some concerns over a newly hired executive who was brought in at an exorbitant dollar amount (some $40k/month) while still under a strict non-compete with her former employer- a main competitor of ours. It was not her salary that I complained about, but the workload that was being passed off to me, as she was unable to attend some of the calls and meetings, due to the non-compete (certain calls may have had potential customers and contacts who knew of her in the previous role, so she would not attend). This made completing certain job functions of mine rather difficult, as I was handed some of her projects and calls which took precedence. Furthermore, she is working under an alias, a fake name, and a fake email address to avoid getting caught by the prior employer, all of which I addressed directly with my CEO. A week after expressing the issues, I was terminated.
I am wondering what the pro's out here would suggest, as I feel the company is acting unethically, engaging it what feels like unfair business practices, and potentially retaliating against the employee who was able to voice said concerns. Do you think I have a chance of an improved severance package? Is mentioning the non-compete issue going to be viewed as "blackmail"? Does this sound like a case of unfair or wrongful termination that I should further fight? I'm not interested in making a "big deal" out of the entire situation, I just want to be paid for the hard work I did and according to my pay agreement. It's difficult to take the step and "lawyer up" when you are worried about your financials, looking for a new job, etc. I want to make sure I am doing the right thing if I do take it forward and appreciate very much any professional thoughts on this. Thank you in advance for any insight!
Additionally, I had recently voiced some concerns over a newly hired executive who was brought in at an exorbitant dollar amount (some $40k/month) while still under a strict non-compete with her former employer- a main competitor of ours. It was not her salary that I complained about, but the workload that was being passed off to me, as she was unable to attend some of the calls and meetings, due to the non-compete (certain calls may have had potential customers and contacts who knew of her in the previous role, so she would not attend). This made completing certain job functions of mine rather difficult, as I was handed some of her projects and calls which took precedence. Furthermore, she is working under an alias, a fake name, and a fake email address to avoid getting caught by the prior employer, all of which I addressed directly with my CEO. A week after expressing the issues, I was terminated.
I am wondering what the pro's out here would suggest, as I feel the company is acting unethically, engaging it what feels like unfair business practices, and potentially retaliating against the employee who was able to voice said concerns. Do you think I have a chance of an improved severance package? Is mentioning the non-compete issue going to be viewed as "blackmail"? Does this sound like a case of unfair or wrongful termination that I should further fight? I'm not interested in making a "big deal" out of the entire situation, I just want to be paid for the hard work I did and according to my pay agreement. It's difficult to take the step and "lawyer up" when you are worried about your financials, looking for a new job, etc. I want to make sure I am doing the right thing if I do take it forward and appreciate very much any professional thoughts on this. Thank you in advance for any insight!