What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California
I work in a retail store and my manager is trying to fire me for insubordination for a simple paperwork mishap. My store manager has not been on speaking terms with me for the past two months and she has enacted all of these new policies but has not verbally spoken to me about them. I am being told by other employees and there was one time she told me to read a bulletin board memo and sign it. I read it and signed it thinking I had understood what it had said but the next day I did it wrong. Three days later my manager wrote me up for it. I told her that I thought I had understood the memo but since she did not verbally talk to me like other associates I did it wrong. It was a one time mistake and now I know not to do it again. But she already had the write up ready without even speaking to me and asking for my side of the story. She also wrote other irrelevant things in the write up that had nothing to with what she was writing me up for. She told me that since it was my second written warning the next written warning she will terminate me. I looked in the company employee handbook and it does not state anything about written warnings or a time frame on them. The one that she is holding against me it from almost two years ago. I've spoken to HR and they have not done anything and are not going to do anything. When my manager gave me the written warnings I did not sign them and she did not state on them that I did not sign and she also did not get a witness signature.
My questions are:
1) If it does not state in the employee handbook when a written warning expires so will it always be valid?
2) Without my signature and without a witness signature can a written warning be valid?
3) What should my next step be if HR is not going to do anything?
TIA for the feedback!
I work in a retail store and my manager is trying to fire me for insubordination for a simple paperwork mishap. My store manager has not been on speaking terms with me for the past two months and she has enacted all of these new policies but has not verbally spoken to me about them. I am being told by other employees and there was one time she told me to read a bulletin board memo and sign it. I read it and signed it thinking I had understood what it had said but the next day I did it wrong. Three days later my manager wrote me up for it. I told her that I thought I had understood the memo but since she did not verbally talk to me like other associates I did it wrong. It was a one time mistake and now I know not to do it again. But she already had the write up ready without even speaking to me and asking for my side of the story. She also wrote other irrelevant things in the write up that had nothing to with what she was writing me up for. She told me that since it was my second written warning the next written warning she will terminate me. I looked in the company employee handbook and it does not state anything about written warnings or a time frame on them. The one that she is holding against me it from almost two years ago. I've spoken to HR and they have not done anything and are not going to do anything. When my manager gave me the written warnings I did not sign them and she did not state on them that I did not sign and she also did not get a witness signature.
My questions are:
1) If it does not state in the employee handbook when a written warning expires so will it always be valid?
2) Without my signature and without a witness signature can a written warning be valid?
3) What should my next step be if HR is not going to do anything?
TIA for the feedback!