JasonYa
New Member
Hello,
I am new to this forum and was wondering if someone might be able to give some insight to a situation that occurred early this August with my former employer. A little background....
A guy I worked with, who happens to be black, went to the .M of the company to express concern over his unfair treatment. From what I understand the GM didn't take to kindly to the fact that this employee was stating he was being discriminated against and the conversation went sour. Long story short, the employee basically told the GM that his managers were stealing company time by golfing on the clock with other hourly employees, which I was a witness to. This was on a Wednesday. The following Tuesday, myself and three other guys, including the plaintiff, were summoned individually into the office with all six of the company's managers and accused of stealing company time. The managers claimed that they had video surveillance of us 'doing next to nothing' three days of the week prior.
The story gets interesting, in my opinion. The week we were 'observed doing next to nothing' we were all given performance reviews. I received the 'highest review among my peers' according to one of the accusing managers. The following day, myself and the black gentleman were terminated from employment. In my case, they cited my last chance agreement, which has nothing to do with anything because of what is stated. The LCA states that I was to complete a Intensive Outpatient rehab program, which was done, submit to company sponsored no notice drug testing, which was done and passed all five times and sign an undated letter of resignation should I fail to complete the two agreements stated above. There wasn't any deviation from this LCA. I should mention I am a recovering alcoholic, and self-disclosed to my employer about my problem, on my own will. There weren't any performance issues, write-ups or job safety issues that came up during my employment that would've caused me to self disclose, I just needed help. I have been sober for over a year now because of that self-disclosure. During the termination process, they stated, now I quote, 'because of your last chance agreement, we have decided to terminate your employment'. I then asked what exactly my last chance agreement had to do with this situation and the HR managers reply was' Well, you have come a long way with your additions', I then asked again, what did my addictions have to do with me supposedly stealing company time. I then quoted the GM by saying what he told me when I entered into the LCA, 'This will not have any bearing on your employment other than what is specifically stated in the agreement'. He stuttered, then sent me out of the room for about 5 minutes. They called me into the room again and changed the reason for termination, now citing a 'performance related issue' and this was no longer up for debate. They also said that my LCA 'put me at a higher level than everybody else' and I was to hand in my keys and ID badge. I peacefully handed in their belongings and walked out.
Now, I am a documented alcoholic, protected under the ADA. It wasn't as if I was fired then came up with this to try and get back. I completed rehab, I attend AA regularly and stay very active, the program has saved my life. I am wondering if there is any reason to pursue any type of legal action against them. Myself and the Black Gentleman were the only ones fired, the other two guys retained their employment and were only reprimanded. It seems as if the company wanted to get rid of the original plaintiff but couldn't justify his termination without someone else going, that someone else was me. I did not have any issues during my employment. A clean record, high performance review and praise from managers stating how far I've come. They were getting ready to promote me that Monday before I was fired and made me feel as if I was a major contributor to the team. As a matter of fact, that was stated in my review, along with ' {Name} has many of the qualities we are looking for in our front line leadership'. I also wanted to state that unemployment has ruled in my favor, allowing me to collect benefits. I submitted evidence on behalf of myself and they cited the company did not have justifiable cause under a certain states law to prove I wasn't performing my job.
There are other details, I just wanted to give an overview. Any help, advice or recommendations will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Best Regards,
12steps
I am new to this forum and was wondering if someone might be able to give some insight to a situation that occurred early this August with my former employer. A little background....
A guy I worked with, who happens to be black, went to the .M of the company to express concern over his unfair treatment. From what I understand the GM didn't take to kindly to the fact that this employee was stating he was being discriminated against and the conversation went sour. Long story short, the employee basically told the GM that his managers were stealing company time by golfing on the clock with other hourly employees, which I was a witness to. This was on a Wednesday. The following Tuesday, myself and three other guys, including the plaintiff, were summoned individually into the office with all six of the company's managers and accused of stealing company time. The managers claimed that they had video surveillance of us 'doing next to nothing' three days of the week prior.
The story gets interesting, in my opinion. The week we were 'observed doing next to nothing' we were all given performance reviews. I received the 'highest review among my peers' according to one of the accusing managers. The following day, myself and the black gentleman were terminated from employment. In my case, they cited my last chance agreement, which has nothing to do with anything because of what is stated. The LCA states that I was to complete a Intensive Outpatient rehab program, which was done, submit to company sponsored no notice drug testing, which was done and passed all five times and sign an undated letter of resignation should I fail to complete the two agreements stated above. There wasn't any deviation from this LCA. I should mention I am a recovering alcoholic, and self-disclosed to my employer about my problem, on my own will. There weren't any performance issues, write-ups or job safety issues that came up during my employment that would've caused me to self disclose, I just needed help. I have been sober for over a year now because of that self-disclosure. During the termination process, they stated, now I quote, 'because of your last chance agreement, we have decided to terminate your employment'. I then asked what exactly my last chance agreement had to do with this situation and the HR managers reply was' Well, you have come a long way with your additions', I then asked again, what did my addictions have to do with me supposedly stealing company time. I then quoted the GM by saying what he told me when I entered into the LCA, 'This will not have any bearing on your employment other than what is specifically stated in the agreement'. He stuttered, then sent me out of the room for about 5 minutes. They called me into the room again and changed the reason for termination, now citing a 'performance related issue' and this was no longer up for debate. They also said that my LCA 'put me at a higher level than everybody else' and I was to hand in my keys and ID badge. I peacefully handed in their belongings and walked out.
Now, I am a documented alcoholic, protected under the ADA. It wasn't as if I was fired then came up with this to try and get back. I completed rehab, I attend AA regularly and stay very active, the program has saved my life. I am wondering if there is any reason to pursue any type of legal action against them. Myself and the Black Gentleman were the only ones fired, the other two guys retained their employment and were only reprimanded. It seems as if the company wanted to get rid of the original plaintiff but couldn't justify his termination without someone else going, that someone else was me. I did not have any issues during my employment. A clean record, high performance review and praise from managers stating how far I've come. They were getting ready to promote me that Monday before I was fired and made me feel as if I was a major contributor to the team. As a matter of fact, that was stated in my review, along with ' {Name} has many of the qualities we are looking for in our front line leadership'. I also wanted to state that unemployment has ruled in my favor, allowing me to collect benefits. I submitted evidence on behalf of myself and they cited the company did not have justifiable cause under a certain states law to prove I wasn't performing my job.
There are other details, I just wanted to give an overview. Any help, advice or recommendations will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Best Regards,
12steps
