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Please Help I Was Terminated For Playing A Joke Iv'e Been Playing Them For 3 Yrs

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robinls

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?[FONT=]undefined[/FONT]undefined :confused:
iam from Indiana and i have been working at the same nursing home for a little over 3 years we have a new adminastater he has been there about 4 months well 2 months ago his daughter was hired as a nurse i have ALWAYS been the practical joker but never hurt any-one it kept up the morale any way when his daughter started He assured us there was to be no favortisum to her and me being who i am played a joke i wrote a note addressed to her and hung it in the break room where she would get it it said (her name) you need to be a CNA and a nurse tonight also we need all the wheel chairs scrubbed and cleaned and i signed it using our assist don's name i had every intension of being in the break room when she came in and after she read it i thought we would get a good laugh but as i was helping a resident i had just missed her so i ran down the hall and told her it was all a joke and that i meant to see her as she opened it she told me she didnt think it was funny and i just let well enough alone for a couple days than approched her and told her i was really sorry because if i knew it would upset her that much i wouldnt have done it and i said are you going to EVER forgive me and she said no not even for all the choclete in the world but was smiling well her father being the adminastrator i went to him told him what i had done and how bad i felt and that i would like to buy her a small gift to just let her know i was truley sorry so i did that and she took it and we talked a bit about other things and i thought that was the end of it ..it took place jan 18th well i went into work today and was called into the office and was asked about the note i explain as i have to you and with that they told me i was being terminated for forging a managments name it was wrote on a scrape piece of paper !!! i have called the corperate office. and they said they would look into it my question is can they fire me for that ? i have been playing jokes for 3 years and never even got a write up now seeing how that was the 18 and i got fired today well yesterday the25th here is what our policy book says aboutunacceptable behavior because the other things the have in it none relate to that "you may direct questions to the adminastrator or supervisor unacceptable conduct that does NOT lead to IMMEDIATE dismissal should be delt with in the following manner: Verbal warning,written warning,suspension,dismisal so if it happened on the 18th and they just now fired me 7 days later isn;t that not immediate? if any-one can help me give me some advice or input i would appreciate it more than you could know thanks and have a great day.robin
 


BelizeBreeze

Senior Member
The answer to the only question you asked is yes, you can be fired for playing such a stupid joke and yes, you can be fired for 'forging' someone else's name.
 

Beth3

Senior Member
Apparently this joke crossed the line and the new administrator didn't care for you using his name in one of your jokes. Yes, they can terminate you for this.

FYI - Your post would have been a lot easier to read if you'd used some punctuation.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
The fact that you have been playing practical jokes for three years with no repercussions does NOT mean that you are home free. They are free to fire you if they take issue with with one of the jokes and that's exactly what happened. It doesn't matter that it was "only a scrap of paper" - if the DON doesn't want you signing his name to things he doesn't have to.

As for their failing to follow the disciplinary procedure, unless you are operating under a bona fide, enforceable CONTRACT (and a policy manual is NOT a contract in the very large majority of instances) that specifically guarantees that each and every step will be followed in each and every instance, they are free to skip steps as they choose. And an employer would be stupid to have such a guarantee, since with that kind of policy someone could be caught red-handed stealing the petty cash box and would only be able to give them a verbal warning.

I think you're out of luck.
 

purple2

Member
In addition, surely you can see the seriousness of giving a note, signed by the DON, directing a nurse to work under unsafe staffing conditions. This isn't a minor offense.
 

Venus05

Member
Good Humor v. Bitch

Unfortunately Robin, you have subjected your innocent humor to someone who for whatever reason did not appreciate it. Perhaps she felt she was too good to be scrubbing toilets and how dare you kiddingly or not suggest she (the daughter of the administrator) do so??? She more than likely came to work there for her father because things were not going well for her. She was not up for jokes. Girl, it's a hard knock life and all you can do from this is learn. Be careful what you say, pay attention to who appreciates humor and who does not and just always do your best. Everything in life happens for a reason. Keep your chin up. :)
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
I see this as less that someone didn't appreciate a joke and more that Robin signed someone else's name to a document directing someone where to work. Whether she intended it to be taken seriously is not the issue; whether it was a scrap of paper or a full page document is not the issue. Signing someone else's name to anything is a valid termination offense, whether it was intended to be a joke or not.
 

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