EMS Wrongful termination and or unemployement eligibility

[escobaa88]

I was recently terminated from employment at a North Carolina EMS Agency.
I want to other views on the grounds of my termination specifically if it is wrongful and/or should I be eligible for unemployement while I search for a new job

I originally left my job at a North Carolina Rescue Squad (employed as full time EMT) on April 26 2009. To protect the agencies privacy I will refer to them as EMS. I was planning on joining the US Navy shortly after that and I was going to take a few weeks off before doing so. During the time I was waiting the Navy changed their entrance requirements. I maintained a good relationship with Six Forks and its employees at that time. I was informed from other employees that they were currently in a hiring freeze and could not bring on any other paid staff. I decided in June to apply for unemployment to assist in my bills while I searched for employment. I needed this employment to survive while searching for a job and waiting on the Navy. I received a phone call in the beginning of July from my former Chief who informed me that he had received a bill for about eight thousand dollars. He stated that the agency was unable to pay that and I could come back to work if needed and to send my time requests to the scheduler. When contacted by ESC I cancelled my claim for benefits.

At that time I began working for EMS again as a part time employee. It was common knowledge and all management was aware that I intended to maintain my employment until the time that I leave for Navy Basic Training. I was told by the Navy that this would be more or less six months. I was working two or three 12-hour shifts a week in addition I was assisting with the fleet maintenance at the agency. I also volunteered to do a project for free in which I constructed a mass casualty incident command board for the agency's supervisor vehicle. I was never informed that I was on any type of probationary status with the agency. Having worked there for three years I received numerous accolades for my dedication and commitment. Most recently I was given a special dedication award from the agency in March 2009. In the past I had received written warning for being late. The policy of the agency is that these are only to stay in the employee file for six months. I had not received any verbal or written action of any type since September of 2008. That means that my employee has nothing in it but accolades. I repeat that I was never informed or have since been informed that my return to work was on some type of probationary status.

On September 2nd 2009 I was working a night shift on the ambulance. I was working with two partners that night. In addition one other employee and one volunteer were at the station with us. They had completed moving two out of service units around. The group of us spent the night hanging out in the back parking lot of our station. We were not dispatched to any calls and we were just passing the time as is done at all times at the station after out duties around the station and on the ambulance are complete. We all made a bad decision and threw the trash (soda cans and a pizza box) that we had used onto the roof of the building. The next afternoon I received a phone call from my supervisor who informed me that the trash had blown off the roof and all five of us had been placed on a leave of absence while the situation was investigated. I immediately admitted my involvement and offered an apology. My supervisor informed me that he would need a written statement via email about the incident. The morning of September 4th I sent my statement in which i offered another apology and offered to clean the entire roof, the station, pay a fine, or whatever they deemed appropriate. I sent my statement only to my supervisor. I was contact less than one hour later and was told they needed to meet with me sooner rather than later. I told them I would be present within half an hour.

In the meeting that I was summoned to I was informed that the previous night two of the five personnel involved had gotten very intoxicated and called another Supervisor to harass him. I stated that I was not involved in that and I can prove the same. I was told that those phone calls and that attitude turned the situation from being "cans thrown on the roof" into a "cultural issue" that must be addressed by the agency. At that point we reviewed the fact that my employee file had no other eligible reprimands in my file. I was then told that I was being terminated because of the incident. The incident was listed on the form as a moderate offense. I left that meeting terminated but still respectful and calm. When I called later to speak with my supervisor about some of the wording that I felt was offensive and false about my character I was treated with disrespect with another supervisor. That same supervisor falsely told me that I had no other options and the situation was done. I have since learned that there was an appeals process that I was not informed of at the time of my termination.

The reasons I feel I am fully qualified for unemployment benefits and this is not willful action are
1. I was not offered any kind of remediation for my actions and was not currently on any probation. I had not shown a pattern of actions that would justify me as not being re trainable as I was informed in the meeting that other were being considered.
2. I was the only person involved terminated even though we all had equal involvement. In fact everyone else involved was only put on a six month probation. They were not even suspended they were all back on their scheduled shifts the following day.
3. I was told by a supervisor that the reason the situation was so severe was because of the phone calls made that I was not involved with.
4. I was not informed of the appeal process for my termination that I was entitled to.
5. I believe I should have the same rights that any other employee is given. It seems to me that I was terminated and others were not because it was common knowledge that I am joining the Navy and would not be employed for the rest of my career with EMS. I have previously witnessed this attitude with others at the agency who left the agency to advance their careers
6. The Chief is required to make the decision to terminate an employee. I do not believe he ever had time to review my statement involving the incident because he was not present the day i was terminated. I tried to contact him that day to discuss with him the grounds of my termination because I believed he might be under the false assumption that I participated in the harassing phone calls. I sent him an email requesting that he get in contact with me in an appropriate amount of time or I would have to take further action. It has now been five business days and I have received no contact.
7. If I was or still am able to appeal my termination the attitude that I unjustly received from a member of the command staff was degrading and hostile. I received that attitude during the phone call I mentioned earlier and when I picked up my final paycheck. I have also been told by other members of the agency that the same supervisor was discussing the grounds of my termination with her and she was involved in no way in the incident or my termination. These actions leave me feeling that I could not be treated justly or with any respect if I was to return to the agency.

I believe I was wrongfully terminated. However I still plan on leaving for the Navy in the next year and do not want some court case hanging over my head. Also I cant even afford the consultation rate some lawyers have offered. The best option is to receive unemployment for a short period while I search for a new job. Thanks for your time and thoughts.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[ecmst12]

This is not an illegal or wrongful termination. You likely could have qualified for unemployment had you applied right after your termination, now that it's 5 months later, I'm not sure. Unless you meant August 26 not april.

 

[pattytx]

ecmst12, you read that whole thing?

 

[ecmst12]

Not the whole thing. Apparently he was fired because he threw trash off the roof, and later that night his co-workers did some stupider things, and so ALL of them got fired. He believes he should not have been fired because he only did the little stupid thing and not the bigger stupid thing.

I might have misunderstood the timeline because of all the irrelevent information he put in there.

 

[commentator]

Yes, I've read it, and it makes perfect sense to me. This is what really happened. This person was going in the Navy, he left the job for that reason, and there was a delay. He was approved for and begun to draw unemployment benefits.

EMT that he works for is a "reimbursing employer" as a city or county governmental entity, they only pay unemployment taxes on a case by case situation. Thus, they received notice that if this person completed the whole claim, it would cost their agency $8000. They screamed. The only possible way to avoid this, they were probably told this by someone, was to call the person back to work, and then find a reason to fire him/her, so they could not receive unemployment.

All the rest is just extra. As we all know, there is no such thing as wrongful termination(except for EEOC issues) in the state he's in. No, they do not have to treat each person equally, or give you warnings, or tell you you are on probationary status, or fire everyone if they fire you, or give you a reason why you were fired or allow you to file appeals or give you appeals information. No legal recourse whatsoever. They can fire him for just about anything. The fact that he signed a statement admitting that he did it and apologising was just plain old gravy on their taters.

OP, what you can do if file for your unemployment benefits again. Begin this immediately. You will still be on the same claim you set up before, since it has not been a year since it was filed. But you will have to report that you were discharged for throwing trash on the roof. They will do an investigation of the situation. It will be determined whether this is considered "gross misconduct" or something that should have been a "warning" offense.

You need to leave out all issues except the ones related to this incident, particularly that you did have a write up about something else some time ago, and that the guy you talked to last was rude to you. This is not relevant. Just answer the questions asked by the claims taker, which will be mostly "what was the incident that led to your termination?" and "Had you had any prior indications that this behavior would lead to your termination" and "What was the company policy regarding this type of behavior?" and "Did you try to resolve the situation?"or "were you given an option to alter your behavior to keep your job."

Begin certifying for weekly benefits as soon as you have filed the claim as instructed. The initial claim will probably be denied. If so, you will have the option to appeal. You can retain an attorney, or get legal aid to help if you are qualified, but you can also represent yourself. It sounds as though you probably will get an appeal from the employer, even if you are given the first decision in your favor. Because leaving to go in the Navy got you approved, and they would have to pay, and they would try to pull almost anything to avoid that, believe me! Getting your unemployment back is the best you can hope for in this situation.

 

[cbg]

I just want to clarify one thing.

In at-will states, an employee can be fired for any reason except one prohibited by law, true. But there are more reasons than EEOC discrimination that are illegal. It is equally illegal to fire someone for filing a workers comp claim; for asking for or taking FMLA; for filing a wage claim; for reporting unsafe activity to OSHA or illegal activity to the appropriate regulatory agency, for participating in union activity, and depending on state law probably a few other things as well.

There is a tendency on this and other boards to only reference EEOC discrimination, and I tend to let it go for two reasons; 1, EEOC discrimination is the most common type of wrongful termination, and 2, I get tired of making the same correction over and over. But every so often I feel compelled to expand on the incomplete answer. This is one such time.

Nothing I have said is intended to detract from Commentator's explanation of how the OP's UI claim should run.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled posting.