Employer states fired for misconduct????

[ljohnverrell]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GEORGIA

State is Georgia. Hello. I was discharged by my company for hitting the wrong button on the employee telephone dashboard and disconnecting a customer by accident. This was a new position for me in which I was transferred to because of downsizing last November. I had little training on how to use that feature and requested that my supervisor train me on how to do it two weeks prior. He never got around to training me because we were always so busy and when the incident happened, I was not given any warning, etc. just terminated. Which I know GA is at will so they can do that.

The problem is that they put "misconduct" on my separation notice to block my unempolyment benefits. How is what I did misconduct? I did not intentionally hang on up the customer. I had asked for training on how to do that function and they kept putting it off. I had emailed my supervisor two weeks prior to request training on this issue and they blocked me from my company email account the same day it happened so I couldn't print the email.

They have never disciplined me for misconduct reasons in my whole 16 months with the company. I have had warnings for attendence, which I improved over the following 6 months, but not misconduct before ever. Can I appeal this, because they have no burden of proof of misconduct?

 

[pattytx]

Has there been a hearing/interview yet?

 

[ljohnverrell]

Hearing

Thanks Pattytx. No hearing yet. I filed for UI last week. They have until 3/11 to respond. I'm just preparing myself. Oppss..should not had said appeal, then. I meant "dispute".

 

[Banned_Princess]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GEORGIA

State is Georgia. Hello. I was discharged by my company for hitting the wrong button on the employee telephone dashboard and disconnecting a customer by accident. This was a new position for me in which I was transferred to because of downsizing last November. I had little training on how to use that feature and requested that my supervisor train me on how to do it two weeks prior. He never got around to training me because we were always so busy and when the incident happened, I was not given any warning, etc. just terminated. Which I know GA is at will so they can do that.

The problem is that they put "misconduct" on my separation notice to block my unempolyment benefits. How is what I did misconduct? I did not intentionally hang on up the customer. I had asked for training on how to do that function and they kept putting it off. I had emailed my supervisor two weeks prior to request training on this issue and they blocked me from my company email account the same day it happened so I couldn't print the email.

They have never disciplined me for misconduct reasons in my whole 16 months with the company. I have had warnings for attendence, which I improved over the following 6 months, but not misconduct before ever. Can I appeal this, because they have no burden of proof of misconduct?

You are welcome, and encouraged to appeal this with the department of labor.


Don't try to appeal it with the company, have them explain themselves to the Department of labor instead. let them judge.

 

[Hot Topic]

People aren't terminated for accidentally disconnecting one caller. I suspect the real answer lies in the warnings about attendance.

The claim is also made that the OP was barred from the company email two weeks before termination and that a copy of the email sent to the supervisor regarding training couldn't be printed. Huh?

Can you say "fishy?" The OP could have researched that particular telephone system or contacted the manufacturer for assistance. Telephone systems aren't rocket science.

 

[swalsh411]

You're telling the OP he should have researched how to work the phones on his own time? Yes phones are not "rocket science" but mistakes are inevitable if somebody receives no training. And you didn't read his post correctly. He wasn't barred from company email two weeks before the hangup incident; he was barred the day he was fired.

You're probably right about the attendance issue, however if the OP corrected the problem then that still does not constitute misconduct.

OP: The burden of proof rests with the employer to show misconduct. If you truly corrected your attendance issue and did your best answering the phone you should not be disqualified.

 

[Hot Topic]

Yes, he could have researched operating the phones from his desk, which is what he should have done if unable to get anyone to train him. It wasn't as if he was calling a friend about getting together over the weekend. It was business related. Did he look for a guide to using the telephone system? They're frequently around.

I reread the part about being banned from the company email system, which is SOP. Glad you got it. I suspect most would find it confusing.

There could be a lot more going on here. Again, it's unlikely he was terminated for disconnecting one person.

 

[>Charlotte<]

You're telling the OP he should have researched how to work the phones on his own time?

Why not? He apparently only needed help with this one feature. An employee who knows how to take initiative and doesn't need someone to hold his hand is an asset. Being considered an asset by one's employer is a good thing. OP wasn't obliged to figure it out on his own, but it probably would have been a very good idea.

Regarding the attendance issue, note that OP did not say he corrected it, he said he improved it.

Hot Topic is right that employees do not get fired because they disconnected a call once.

 

[ljohnverrell]

People aren't terminated for accidentally disconnecting one caller. I suspect the real answer lies in the warnings about attendance.

The claim is also made that the OP was barred from the company email two weeks before termination and that a copy of the email sent to the supervisor regarding training couldn't be printed. Huh?

Can you say "fishy?" The OP could have researched that particular telephone system or contacted the manufacturer for assistance. Telephone systems aren't rocket science.

Hi. No the answer is not in the attendence policy. They stated that it was because of the disconnect of the phone call. If they even bring up the attendence warnings, I can combat that with the company attendence policy that I signed during my hiring. I had well brought my attendence to standard before this issue.

As far as the phones. These are NOT standard work phones. This is computer based phone bar satelitte dispatching application that I had asked for additional training from my supervisor, (have proof), two weeks prior. I had already told my supervisor that area was confusing to me since it differ from the system I was used to using. This is for DirectTV. The same phone application that I was using was the one that sends programming signals to satelitte customer, so no it was definitely not a standard phone situation where I could call a manifacturer.

 

[ljohnverrell]

You're telling the OP he should have researched how to work the phones on his own time? Yes phones are not "rocket science" but mistakes are inevitable if somebody receives no training. And you didn't read his post correctly. He wasn't barred from company email two weeks before the hangup incident; he was barred the day he was fired.

You're probably right about the attendance issue, however if the OP corrected the problem then that still does not constitute misconduct.

OP: The burden of proof rests with the employer to show misconduct. If you truly corrected your attendance issue and did your best answering the phone you should not be disqualified.

Thanks so much for reading and understanding the total issue.

 

[ljohnverrell]

The real truth

Thanks for everyone's response. Here is the whole story and what I plan to bring out if there is a hearing. Sorry its long.

I was hired by the company in Nov 2008 to work for the Best Buy division. This is a company that contracts work at home operators for customer service, etc. The Best Buy division asked the company to cut my division in Nov 2009 by over 60%. Since I had low tenure, I was one of the people that was moved to the DirecTV division of the company. We had no say so in the matter, of course--if we wanted a job--we had to take what they gave us and so we did.

The training course was crammed to us in Nov 2009, with several days missed because of the holidays. We really had little training on the phone bar, because they were trying to cram the technical stuff and teaching us how to give customers pay per views, etc with the phone system. A lot of people quit because it was so different from the division we were hired for, but I manage to make it out of the cramming.

Just a few weeks on the phones and never having to transfer to a supervisor before, I did not remember how to on one call. I asked my new supervisor for training on how to do it. He said he would, but due to the snow storms this year, DirecTV phones were ringing off the hook for angry customers without their programming, he always put it off.

That day, I couldn't help a customer and I need to get him to a supervisor. He wasn't upset or anything, I just couldn't help him. The HOLD button that transfers to a supervisor is right next to the RELEASE button that cancels the call. They aren't marked HOLD and RELEASE, they are like little icon characters. Genus, right? I accidently click the icon character for RELEASE and dropped the customer. That call was being monitored by my supervisor and he called his boss and said that I dropped the call intentionally. Total bogus! I told him that I didn't remember which icon was which a few weeks earlier and it is an easy mistake for a new person that was crammed into training could make. At first they said they would suspend me 5 days, blocked me from my email, etc. When I asked for documentation for the 5 day suspension for my records, they fired me citing "misconduct".

I found out the same day from a supervisor that the company lost the ENTIRE Best Best division that they downsized me and 12 others from just 4 months ago and that they had to try to place over 100 employees by March 28th. Guess what? Those supervisors, etc that they have to place from the Best Buy division are being put into the position that they fired me from! Thats the real reason I was fired. They selected that single incident and are trying to use it to free up a position, AND to deny me IU benefits. I actually have proof of that downsizing in the email from that supervisor from her company email, but I don't want to get them in trouble, so I hope I don't have to bring that up.

Thats the whole story. In no way am I going to allow them to get away with this. They are going to have to layoff tons of workers in that division, and they are trying to use my lack of training to use that feature to free up space and cite misconduct to deny me UI.

 

[swalsh411]

Nice story but don't get into all that with the unemployment examiner. Just say you did your job to the best of your ability. Your employer bears the burden of proof to show misconduct.