Fired without being told??

[Delia24]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio
My husband stopped a kid from attacking another employee. As a result he was sent home pending investigation. After a day, he called his employer to find out when he could come back to work. He was told that the matter was handed over to the police and to contact them. So he did, the police said they reviewed the tapes and it was clear he hadn't done anything wrong and that no charges were going to be filed. He went back to his employer and informed them of what the police said, and the guy told him that it was up to owner to make the decision and that they would call him back. THEY NEVER DID. 3 days later, I got to check the bank account to see what his check was, and it was only $136!! He's salary! And they still haven't contacted him or returned any of calls, even a week later. Is that legal? Can they fire him without even telling him?? Please help!

 

[commentator]

What he needs to do is file a claim for unemployment benefits immediately. He should tell them exactly what has happened. They will do an inquiry to the employer. If the employer says he was terminated, you'll know, of course, and can go about the whole file claim and appeal, etc. and he stands a pretty good chance to be approved for unemployment benefits. If they say, 'Oh, he's not fired, tell him to come on back to work!' which sometimes happens in these cases. But either way, before they just leave him dangling in the breeze for a while, he needs to file a claim and get it established whether he is terminated or not.

Answer to "Is this legal, can they do this?" is yes. There's no law that prohibits an employer from firing someone on the spot, or without telling him, or for just about any reason they chose. They may, in your state, fire someone "at will." The first thing he needs to do is establish what is going on, which he can do by filing an unemployment claim and having them contact the employer for the reason he is no longer working. Any week you are off work through no fault of your own without pay, you are eligible for unemployment benefits. Even if you're salaried. Or even if you are told by the employer that you are "on suspension" or "home pending an investigation."

 

[justalayman]

This sounds like a stuation that actually happened with Walmart. The guy got fired by after review they offered him his job back. Not sure if he accepted it or not.

Walmart was not legally obligated to offer him his job back both because their policy stated that involving yourself in such situations was against policy but even more so because there was nothing illegal about terminating him for the involvement or no reason at all. Simply put; they could fire the guy if they wanted to with no reason needed.


Your friends stuation is the same regarding his employment. If they did terminate him, they are not required to pay him for the entire salary period and as such it can be prorated to the time actually employed.

 

[Delia24]

Thank you both for responding! He has made a claim for unemployment, so we're waiting on that. But the reason why I brought up his check was because they docked it for no reason! He was paid weekly, so the check in question was from the previous week, before the incident took place. Which is why it made no sense to me. But again thank you for your answers, I'll keep you guys updated with the info as we get it

 

[justalayman]

If they did not pay him for a week he was employed the entire week, they have some explaining to do.

 

[cbg]

It would be a very good idea to check with Payroll before going any further. Often employees assume that they are paid current when they are actually paid in arrears, and vice versa. Check to be certain which it is instead of assuming.