Wrongful Termination?

[May4]

I requested my boss for a HR title which I believed I was entitle to request. I requested for more responsibilities to help the company in achieving its goals.

My employer gave me a raise on the day i requested for the HR title but not the title. Then two weeks or three weeks later he terminated my employment and stated "You requested for a HR title and seems like u r not happy with the company. We will terminate ur employment as of today"

After two weeks of waiting he sent me my termination letter to sign which does not state the reasoning for my termination and states that I do not have any vacation days left. Which is a lie. I used up 8 vacation days. I started with the company on mid of 2009. I earned 12 vacation days until my termination date. Out of those 12 I had record of using up 8 vacation days but from those 8 vacation days I was told to use 2 as vacation even thou i was out for a sick leave because I had surgery done. The week I had the surgery done I was told to come in to work three times that week. I was put in danger of getting hernia by my employer.

I did everything and more but still terminated. I wrote an email to my boss requesting him to revised the termination letter to include the reasoning to my termination. I would never sign a notice with out stating everything because he can use any reason for my termination after wards and try to fight my unemployment.

He also sent me a check which I do n ot know what is for. My boss or his attorney has not replied back to me and the only thing I can think of is making a complaint about my boss to department of labor for wrongful termination. Please advise.

 

[Patricia_Young]

This is not a wrongful termination under the law. In order for a "wrongful termination" to exist, you must have been terminated either because of a protected characteristic (under law) of yours. such as your gender, race, national origin, religion, etc. or because you availed yourself of your right to report an alleged violation of law to the responsible regulatory agency, such as filing a wage claim or reporting an OSHA violation.

Regarding the days you were out ill, but instructed to use vacation. Were you a salaried exempt employee? If so, did you get a sick leave entitlement and, if yes, how many days per year and did you have the sick time left in your bank where you could have used sick time instead of vacation?

Could the check be for what the employer says is your accrued vacation?

 

[May4]

Yes I was a salaried exempt employee. Since, I was the bookkeeper and HR for the company, I was the one keeping track of everyone's sick days and vacation days. We had employees who use more sick days then I did. My boss always stated "if your sick then your sick there is no limit to sick days". My company did not even have a employees handbook. My boss first use to say we accumulate one vacation day every month. Which means in a year we get 12 but then he use to say no in a year u get only 2 weeks. He never made sense and always twisted his words.

To answer ur question, we did not have limit to our sick days.

The check is not for the remaining vacation days. I use to work with the termination letter. I use to read them and print them and mail them our for the previous employees we terminated and I always saw that we stated how many vacation days they had left and how much we r paying them. For me my boss is making no sense. I have a feeling he does not want to bring up the vacation days because what he forced me to do.

Its consider a violation of law for not treating all the employees equally.

 

[Patricia_Young]

Its consider a violation of law for not treating all the employees equally.

No, it isn't. Not unless the reason for the inequitable treatment is because of a legally protected characteristic.

 

[May4]

Then what should I do? I been trying to reach my boss to revised the termination letter to state the reasoning for my termination before I sign it. But, he is ignoring me. I dont know what to do.

 

[Patricia_Young]

I could not find any law in your state requiring the employer to provide such a letter, nor any requirement in the law that you sign it if there is one presented.

Why do you need it? File for unemployment, giving the reason that you were told you were being terminated, and start the ball rolling; unemployment benefits are NOT retroactive.

Good luck.

 

[May4]

Thanks for all ur help!