Employer telling people I don't work there anymore but never fired?

[SparklyFlamingo]

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

I was hired at a restaurant about two months ago and have been working on a regular basis, with no problems or incidents. Last Sunday (4/14/13), I went into work to pick up my schedule and they told me that they left me off this week's schedule because they are cutting back on hours for everyone. They said to call on Wednesday of next week (the 24th) and they would give me my hours for that week.

But today, my sister stopped in to get something to eat and mentioned that her sister worked there and the woman looked at her with a weird expression and said "Yeah she did, a while back...".

My sister was shocked and said "She 'did'?" to which the woman (who is the sister of the restaurant owner, but also an employee) said, "Yeah, she used to work here."

I was NEVER fired.

Is this legal?!

 

[Proserpina]

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

I was hired at a restaurant about two months ago and have been working on a regular basis, with no problems or incidents. Last Sunday (4/14/13), I went into work to pick up my schedule and they told me that they left me off this week's schedule because they are cutting back on hours for everyone. They said to call on Wednesday of next week (the 24th) and they would give me my hours for that week.

But today, my sister stopped in to get something to eat and mentioned that her sister worked there and the woman looked at her with a weird expression and said "Yeah she did, a while back...".

My sister was shocked and said "She 'did'?" to which the woman (who is the sister of the restaurant owner, but also an employee) said, "Yeah, she used to work here."

I was NEVER fired.

Is this legal?!

What happened when you called?

 

[SparklyFlamingo]

What happened when you called?

I haven't called yet...this just happened today and I wasn't told to call until this Wednesday so I wanted to get a legal opinion first so I know how to approach them.

 

[justalayman]

yes, it is legal

I was NEVER fired.

apparently you were. They just neglected to tell you about it.


I would call and speak to the manager or owner to verify it though before taking any other action. Could be the sister was wrong but then again, she could be right.

 

[SparklyFlamingo]

yes, it is legal


apparently you were. They just neglected to tell you about it.


I would call and speak to the manager or owner to verify it though before taking any other action. Could be the sister was wrong but then again, she could be right.

I don't understand how they can tell me to call next week to get my hours, but have employees telling people that I worked there "a while back" when I just worked last week?

Why didn't the owner just tell me that I will never be on the schedule again, if that was the case?

 

[Proserpina]

I don't understand how they can tell me to call next week to get my hours, but have employees telling people that I worked there "a while back" when I just worked last week?

Why didn't the owner just tell me that I will never be on the schedule again, if that was the case?

We can't answer for the owner.

File for UI. The worst you'll receive is a denial.

 

[justalayman]

We can't answer for the owner.

File for UI. The worst you'll receive is a denial.

OP needs to verify the statement first. Since OP was not informed of the termination, the employer could respond with: what? I never fired her. she just quit showing up.




sparkyflamingo, call the boss and ask about what you heard. If you just don't show up anymore and file for UI, it is too easy for the boss to say you quit thereby disqualifying you for unemployment (if you would otherwise be eligible)

 

[SparklyFlamingo]

OP needs to verify the statement first. Since OP was not informed of the termination, the employer could respond with: what? I never fired her. she just quit showing up.




sparkyflamingo, call the boss and ask about what you heard. If you just don't show up anymore and file for UI, it is too easy for the boss to say you quit thereby disqualifying you for unemployment (if you would otherwise be eligible)

Thank you justalayman, I will call tomorrow.

 

[commentator]

When you do call, don't make the mistake of asking the employer about, or telling him about your intention to file for unemployment benefits. One of the major reasons why employers who are cutting back employees hours are so close mouthed about it is that they have to pay in unemployment taxes.

If they then have to let their employees go without a good misconduct reason (in other words, if they have to cut their hours due to lack of business instead of the employee's misconduct or poor performance) then their unemployment rates are raised, it actually costs them money to have people draw unemployment benefits against their business. If you mention it to the employer, they'll probably indicate that they "won't let you" or "won't approve you" to draw benefits or something similar.

So many times they'll just cut back your hours, hoping you'll become discouraged and get another job right away without filing for unemployment insurance. Or that you'll hang on hoping they'll increase your hours later if you are a good person and don't go on and file for benefits.

In actuality, you can file for unemployment benefits and receive during any week that your employer has not enough hours for you that you'd make more in unemployment than your gross wages for that week would have been. This is a Sunday through Saturday week, gross wages, regardless of how you're paid. (Even if you have not been fired, even if you both agree that you are still employed.)

So whether you talk to your boss or not, whether he says you're fired or not, whether he says you're back on the schedule or not, go ahead and file for a week of unemployment benefits for the last week when you've not been on the schedule. Remember, your employer, regardless of what they may tell you, is NOT the one who gets to say whether or not you are eligibile for unemployment benefits. They always have the option of giving you more hours so you won't quailfy for benefits due to low earnings.

So file tomorrow, without mentioning it to your employer, and above all, don't take their word for whether you'll be able to do so or not.

 

[cbg]

FYI, odd as it may seem to you and me, there is no requirement that an employer tell you that you are fired.

So, even assuming that neither the employee in question nor your sister made a mistake or misunderstood something, yes, it was legal.

I suspect, however, that unless the woman your sister spoke to was the owner, manager or scheduler, she simply hadn't seen you around and assumed that you didn't work there any longer. That doesn't make you fired.

 

[HomeGuru]

There are many that use the words layed off and fired to mean the same thing.

 

[cbg]

That's true, HG - but the fact remains that they are not the same thing and those who used them interchangeably are incorrect.

According to the poster, the woman didn't say she was fired; she said she used to work there. That's open to a lot of interpretation.

 

[HomeGuru]

That's true, HG - but the fact remains that they are not the same thing and those who used them interchangeably are incorrect.

According to the poster, the woman didn't say she was fired; she said she used to work there. That's open to a lot of interpretation.

**A: correct and I think the poster is confused.

 

[swalsh411]

"The woman"?

Who is this "the woman"? The cashier? The owner? Maybe she is just confused. It is silly to jump to conclusions that they are telling EVERYBODY because 99.999% of their customers don't care. And even if this are, how does this harm you?

I hope you immediately filed for unemployment when you were left off the schedule.

 

[cbg]

Brief thread hijack:

Attn: Commentator.

Please check your email. Your email, email; not your site PM's.

Thank you.

End thread hijack.