Fired in Arizona

[Richard Gallagher]

I was in a management position in Phoenix, Arizona and was fired because a mistake was made by one of my subordinates which caused the company to lose an account. Since I was the general manager I was held accountable for this person's mistake and was terminated without notice. Prior to my termination a person was supposedly hired to fill another position but after my departure they assumed my job.
I believe it was the intention all along for this new person to get me job.

I had held the general manager's position for approximately 14 months with no other performance issues, warnings or reprimands of any kind. I was the only African-American at this facility. However, there were various minorities in non-management positions. There were 18 people employed at this facility.

In the State of Arizona does the employer need a legitimate reason to fire someone or is this an "At Will" state? Do you think I have a cause of action against the employer in this situation?

 

[loku]

Sec. 23-1501 of the Arizona Labor Code (http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/23/01501.htm) makes Arizona an “at will” state. However, if the fact that you are an African-American was a motivating factor in what happened, then you have a case against them for racial discrimination. Such a charge is often difficult to prove, and the proof depends on all the circumstances, so I think there is enough chance that you have a valid case so that you ought to have it evaluated by a lawyer specializing in employment law in your state.

 

[LaurenLauren0]

i SYMPATHIZE but I am no good for help

I think that is terrible. I highly sympathize with you and I encourage that you do something about it. The same thing happened to me when a bunch of black employees were replaced with other people after we finished setting the store up. I believe you can do something about this and you should take it to the EEOE.