Comrade1986
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Georgia
I had been working for a small retail chain for a year up until a week ago. I had the position of 1st Assistant manager and up until this point, I thought my manager, F, was happy with my job performance. In fact, he told me on several occasions that I was doing a good job and that I should join the training program to become a full manager. About a month ago, F was promoted to District Manager, and a new manager, S, took over our store. We clashed at first as I adjusted to the change and she adjusted to the way our staff had been trained to do things by the previous manager (which were often against company policy), but after about a week we were getting along fine and I was beginning to enjoy the changes she made in the store.
Everything was going fine, so I thought. I was never given any kind of verbal or written reprimand for anything. So imagine my suprise when I was unexpectedly fired for failing to get product on the sales floor one Friday (which they called insubordination), leaving the store understaffed by not coming in the following Saturday, and violating company policy by dating an employee.
Now, both managers knew that I and an associate were dating. F knew about it since the relationship began in June of this year. He said that it was against compnay policy, but I looked through the copy of the employee handbook that I was given when I was hired, and it didn't mention anything about dating. Regardless, he just told us to act professional while we were working (which we did anyway), and often scheduled us so we could work together and have time off together. Whether it was against policy or not, it never seemed to be an issue that we were dating, and if it was, one of us could have easily transferred to the store across town.
On to the other reasons I was terminated. I was supposedly insubordinate because I and another associate failed to get all product from a shipment onto the floor and get the backroom clean one Friday night. Management had already had problems with this associate because he wouldn't do what he was told and would complain about the work he had to do. Before she left, S had told me what I was responsible for and what he was responsible for, namely cleaning the backroom. That night, I got all of my work done and some of his because I knew he wasn't going to finish and I wanted to get as much done as possible. Everything that didn't get done was on his list of stuff to do, yet somehow that was my fault and I was insubordinate?
The next day, my boyfriend was very sick with the flu. I was scheduled to open the store, but, by coincidence, I had switched with another girl so I could run some errands in the morning. Both managers knew about this and didn't have a problem with it. Needless to say, I didn't get to run my errands because at 8:30 I had to take my boyfriend to the doctor. He was dehydrating due to not being able to keep anything down, including water, and I was afraid he might have to go to the ER later on. When he finally got around to seeing us, the doctor actually said that we should have just gone to the ER. I called work from the doctor's office and asked the girl who was orking if she could call around and find someone to take over my shift. She did, and found someone who could work both my 1-7 and my boyfriend's 5-close. I thought our shifts were covered and concentrated on taking care of my boyfriend. I never received a call to let me know that anything had gone wrong. When I came in to work on Monday, I found out that the boy who said he would work had pneumonia and had actually come in to the store just to say he couldn't work. Makes me wonder why he had said he would in the first place, but there's no accounting for some people. So S had to work by herself after the opening associate went home, probably sometime around 5 or 6. It bears mentioning that two Satrudays prior to this event, I was forced to work an 11 hour shift from 11-10 when S herself failed to come in because she was at home with two sick dogs. I never complained or did anything but wish her and her dogs well, yet this is how I am treated for wanting to stay home with my sick HUMAN boyfriend!
So basically, because of policies that were unclear and unenforced and circumstances that were out of my control, I lost my job. I am worried because I have never been fired from a job before and the company makes me out to sound like the world's worst employee. Do I have a case?
I had been working for a small retail chain for a year up until a week ago. I had the position of 1st Assistant manager and up until this point, I thought my manager, F, was happy with my job performance. In fact, he told me on several occasions that I was doing a good job and that I should join the training program to become a full manager. About a month ago, F was promoted to District Manager, and a new manager, S, took over our store. We clashed at first as I adjusted to the change and she adjusted to the way our staff had been trained to do things by the previous manager (which were often against company policy), but after about a week we were getting along fine and I was beginning to enjoy the changes she made in the store.
Everything was going fine, so I thought. I was never given any kind of verbal or written reprimand for anything. So imagine my suprise when I was unexpectedly fired for failing to get product on the sales floor one Friday (which they called insubordination), leaving the store understaffed by not coming in the following Saturday, and violating company policy by dating an employee.
Now, both managers knew that I and an associate were dating. F knew about it since the relationship began in June of this year. He said that it was against compnay policy, but I looked through the copy of the employee handbook that I was given when I was hired, and it didn't mention anything about dating. Regardless, he just told us to act professional while we were working (which we did anyway), and often scheduled us so we could work together and have time off together. Whether it was against policy or not, it never seemed to be an issue that we were dating, and if it was, one of us could have easily transferred to the store across town.
On to the other reasons I was terminated. I was supposedly insubordinate because I and another associate failed to get all product from a shipment onto the floor and get the backroom clean one Friday night. Management had already had problems with this associate because he wouldn't do what he was told and would complain about the work he had to do. Before she left, S had told me what I was responsible for and what he was responsible for, namely cleaning the backroom. That night, I got all of my work done and some of his because I knew he wasn't going to finish and I wanted to get as much done as possible. Everything that didn't get done was on his list of stuff to do, yet somehow that was my fault and I was insubordinate?
The next day, my boyfriend was very sick with the flu. I was scheduled to open the store, but, by coincidence, I had switched with another girl so I could run some errands in the morning. Both managers knew about this and didn't have a problem with it. Needless to say, I didn't get to run my errands because at 8:30 I had to take my boyfriend to the doctor. He was dehydrating due to not being able to keep anything down, including water, and I was afraid he might have to go to the ER later on. When he finally got around to seeing us, the doctor actually said that we should have just gone to the ER. I called work from the doctor's office and asked the girl who was orking if she could call around and find someone to take over my shift. She did, and found someone who could work both my 1-7 and my boyfriend's 5-close. I thought our shifts were covered and concentrated on taking care of my boyfriend. I never received a call to let me know that anything had gone wrong. When I came in to work on Monday, I found out that the boy who said he would work had pneumonia and had actually come in to the store just to say he couldn't work. Makes me wonder why he had said he would in the first place, but there's no accounting for some people. So S had to work by herself after the opening associate went home, probably sometime around 5 or 6. It bears mentioning that two Satrudays prior to this event, I was forced to work an 11 hour shift from 11-10 when S herself failed to come in because she was at home with two sick dogs. I never complained or did anything but wish her and her dogs well, yet this is how I am treated for wanting to stay home with my sick HUMAN boyfriend!
So basically, because of policies that were unclear and unenforced and circumstances that were out of my control, I lost my job. I am worried because I have never been fired from a job before and the company makes me out to sound like the world's worst employee. Do I have a case?