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A Claim of Promissory Estoppel/Detrimental Reliance?

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Liberal93

Junior Member
Hello all, I am a resident of California and have recently been forced into unemployment and near-bankruptcy by an injustice in the workplace for which I believe is grounds for a detrimental reliance lawsuit.

What happened was that a new job hiring required I put in my two-week notice at my then-current job. I agreed to this policy, and after the two-weeks notice and that much time later, I had officially quit that previous job. But even well before then, I went further with my new job to complete the W2s and the new-hire forms. I was officially hired after all the contracts and agreements I signed and dated that day. But since the job was for delivering pizza, they still needed my driver’s license, vehicle registration, insurance policy, social security card, and DMV history. However, I had recently lost my wallet which just happened to have my S.S. card in it for the one day, and I told them (at the new job) that I would need to be doing some hunting around for a copy or alternative of some sort to my S.S. card. I suggested that I give them the outstanding paperwork incrementally as I am able to obtain them so as for the S.S. card to not delay the submission of the rest of the documents. However, they told me to wait until I possessed everything and then to bring them all in at once. I agreed, but I could not find a copy of my S.S. card quickly, nor could I find an alternative replacement, and they never gave me a window of time in which to submit the remaining documents.

Then an unfortunate accident happened, and I was hospitalized from being jumped by several assailants, and I needed several stitches as a result. The event left me vomiting blood for the next week, so there seemed to be some internal bleeding. I was unfit to travel and commute for the next week since I was in a lot of pain. By the time I did manage to gather all the documents, my first work day was still several days away, but my injury forced me to call in for the first day of work. But before my second pre-scheduled day of work, I was adequately healed enough to go out, and I went there, to the pizza place, to turn in the rest of the paperwork. I was met with hostility, and they even refused to accept the paperwork at first. After some words, they begrudgingly agreed to keep the documents but left me in the dark about my schedule. When I later called the manager to inquire about the status of my schedule, they informed me that they took me off the schedule and have withdrawn the job availability to me.

I was left without a job after having quit my previous one in fulfilling the requirement of the new employer-party. As a result, I’ve accrued massive amounts of damage in debt, late bills, and penalty fees because of the unjustified and unfounded actions taken by this employer.

A bit of research has led me to promissory estoppels and detrimental reliance cases. Would my case qualify for a claim? What should be my next course of action? Are there public attorneys that handle these sorts of claims?

Thank you for reading, and I appreciate any advice.
 
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mlane58

Senior Member
Are you kidding? You don't have a promissory estoppel or detrimental reliance case here. You failed to produce the required documentation and then ended up in the hospital through no fault of the employer and now you expect them to keep a job for you? Why not try getting your act together first and then look for a job where the employer doesn't have to wait on you.
 

Liberal93

Junior Member
Are you kidding? You don't have a promissory estoppel or detrimental reliance case here. You failed to produce the required documentation and then ended up in the hospital through no fault of the employer and now you expect them to keep a job for you? Why not try getting your act together first and then look for a job where the employer doesn't have to wait on you.
If you'd open your eyes and read better, you would see that I DID successfully turn in the documents. The fact the new employer had nothing to do with the hospitalization is irrelevant. I simply called in the first scheduled day of work due to the injuries, and now I have two bigots basically telling me that internal bleeding, stitches, and all kinds of nasty abrasions is not justifiable reason call in for a day of work. I would have been able to work the second day, after they accepted the documents, but they covered the rest of my shifts for the next month. But in the meantime of the outstanding documents, my schedule was not the least bit dependent on their submission.
 
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Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
If you'd open your eyes and read better, you would see that I DID successfully turn in the documents. The fact the new employer had nothing to do with the hospitalization is irrelevant. I simply called in the first scheduled day of work due to the injuries, and now I have two bigots basically telling me that internal bleeding, stitches, and all kinds of nasty abrasions is not justifiable reason call in for a day of work. I would have been able to work the second day, after they accepted the documents, but they covered the rest of my shifts for the next month. But in the meantime of the outstanding documents, my schedule was not the least bit dependent on their submission.
Ok, so they hired you and then didn't schedule you.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
No one is telling you that you shouldn't have called out. However you did not show up for work, no matter how legitimate the reason, on your very first day. You were not protected by FMLA, so the employer had absolutely no obligation to hold your job until you had recovered enough to return to work. It actually doesn't matter whether you'd started the job or not, if you had called out on your SECOND day of work because of injury, it would have been just as legal for them to decline to continue your employment. FMLA protection (and the CA state equivalent as well as far as I know) does not begin until after 12 months of employment with at least 1250 hours being worked. Certainly no protection existed prior to you even working one day.

It's POSSIBLE that you could be granted unemployment based on the wages earned at your former job but the reason for termination from the new job. I don't know how likely it is, but you should file anyway.
 

Liberal93

Junior Member
I am beginner -- at best -- at law, and I would appreciate a precise explanation of why my proposed case might not be a legitimate claim. I don't even know what FMLA is.

Source: <http://definitions.uslegal.com/d/detrimental-reliance>

Promissory estoppel may apply when the following elements are proven:

* A promise was made
* Relying on the promise was reasonable or foreseeable
* There was actual and reasonable reliance on the promise
* The reliance was detrimental
Now tell me how these elements may be disproved in my own disposition.
 
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ecmst12

Senior Member
You were fired because you failed to show up for your first day of work. How do you interpret that as your EMPLOYER failing to keep a promise?

The burden of proof is on the plaintiff, so it's not a question of disproving the elements but of you proving them. You have no proof. They fulfilled their "promise", if there ever really was one, by scheduling your first day of work. YOU didn't hold up your end, no matter how legit the reason. THEY chose not to give you a second chance.

Google FMLA.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Heck let's put all that aside and pretend you DO have a case. What are your damages? Well, according to you, the employer was only under an obligation to hire you. There was no definite length of employment implied. So, sure - sue them. Your damages would be ONE DAY of work (if not less). Remember, they could have let you go at ANY point.
 

Liberal93

Junior Member
I was thinking I could sue for the damages in lost wages from my preceding job, since they required I quit in order to get hired.
 

pattytx

Senior Member
I was thinking I could sue for the damages in lost wages from my preceding job, since they required I quit in order to get hired.
So what? Even if you HAD been hired, you could have been (legally) fired the next day.

"Require that you quit"? IOW, they don't allow moonlighting?
 

Liberal93

Junior Member
"Require that you quit"? IOW, they don't allow moonlighting?
The new employer prohibits an employee to work at another pizza place, which was where I was also working. The manager himself required that I put in my two-weeks notice at my other job before he would hire me.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
None of which changes the fact that regardless of how legitimate a reason you may have had, YOU DID NOT SHOW UP FOR WORK.
 

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