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Suspended/Terminated/Rehired/Reprimanded in 6mnths

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Jacj3

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Louisiana

Ok, I'm new here I've actually come before and read up on some others cases just trying to seek help for my own. But, I decided to join and post my request for some advice on an issue that happened to me at the end of 2009 that I continue to fight with my job about.

Nov. 10, 2009 I was walked out of my job by security after having a meeting with security prior to that, 10/19/09, and a meeting that day with my top supervisor. In this meeting he told me I was being placed on non-pay/duty status pending an investigation. I was told it was going to be quick and only last maybe a week or two at max a month. Two weeks went by and I had a vacation planned and paid for in December so I took it. Well while out of town my job tried to send a certified letter to my house and my brother was able to go pick it up for me on the last try before it was sent back. Postal service around here sucks but that's a different story. So he calls me while I'm still out of town and reads me the letter it's work wanting some kinda statement admitting to what I did again which if I didn't do it in the first place how can I admit to something. Well I call and they give me some time because at first I was only given 3 days to respond. So then after my response I get nothing and begin to call to only get voice mail. Then I get another letter from working claiming that in my previous email I admitted to 5 different subjects but nothing is in the letter about the original reason all this happened.

So we go back and forward until Feb. comes around I then email my work explaining to them that I will contact and attorney to handle the case if I do not hear anything back. Two weeks later I get a letter of termination no warning no contact nothing. I then appeal the letter, on the following week I get called into our office and have a meeting with a new manager. He tells me that he could not find a reason I was terminated and allows me to return to work.

About another month goes by before I'm allowed to return to work. Upon returning no one has an idea why I am there as they were not informed of my return. This was a Tuesday on that Friday of that same week I was told to report to the other office again this time only to receive a reprimand. I refuse to agree to the charges in the reprimand and request all of my info.

I finally after fighting back and forward with them since last year sat down a rechecked all the documents submitted through all this to find.

-A submitted typed statement has been filed as my own that I never typed, worte, or was recorded. Nor, is my signature anywhere to be seen
-The amounts and values claimed early on documents are not the same as later.
-My email responses have been taken and changed to statements and me admitting guilt when the email never said anything remotely like what they wrote.
-Dates don't match up on their end.
-All of the charges that have changed from the original date have all been reworded.

I have a stack of paper work that has been submitted as official that if anyone sat down and read this would think someone could not read.

I'm wanting to know legally what steps I should think about taking against my job about these. I honestly am tired of the environment and the hostile work environment that has been created.

I know this may be hard to follow but, any help would be great.

Thank you,
Jerron.
 


Hot Topic

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Louisiana

Ok, I'm new here I've actually come before and read up on some others cases just trying to seek help for my own. But, I decided to join and post my request for some advice on an issue that happened to me at the end of 2009 that I continue to fight with my job about.

Nov. 10, 2009 I was walked out of my job by security after having a meeting with security prior to that, 10/19/09, and a meeting that day with my top supervisor. In this meeting he told me I was being placed on non-pay/duty status pending an investigation. I was told it was going to be quick and only last maybe a week or two at max a month. Two weeks went by and I had a vacation planned and paid for in December so I took it. Well while out of town my job tried to send a certified letter to my house and my brother was able to go pick it up for me on the last try before it was sent back. Postal service around here sucks but that's a different story. So he calls me while I'm still out of town and reads me the letter it's work wanting some kinda statement admitting to what I did again which if I didn't do it in the first place how can I admit to something. Well I call and they give me some time because at first I was only given 3 days to respond. So then after my response I get nothing and begin to call to only get voice mail. Then I get another letter from working claiming that in my previous email I admitted to 5 different subjects but nothing is in the letter about the original reason all this happened.

So we go back and forward until Feb. comes around I then email my work explaining to them that I will contact and attorney to handle the case if I do not hear anything back. Two weeks later I get a letter of termination no warning no contact nothing. I then appeal the letter, on the following week I get called into our office and have a meeting with a new manager. He tells me that he could not find a reason I was terminated and allows me to return to work.

About another month goes by before I'm allowed to return to work. Upon returning no one has an idea why I am there as they were not informed of my return. This was a Tuesday on that Friday of that same week I was told to report to the other office again this time only to receive a reprimand. I refuse to agree to the charges in the reprimand and request all of my info.

I finally after fighting back and forward with them since last year sat down a rechecked all the documents submitted through all this to find.

-A submitted typed statement has been filed as my own that I never typed, worte, or was recorded. Nor, is my signature anywhere to be seen
-The amounts and values claimed early on documents are not the same as later.
-My email responses have been taken and changed to statements and me admitting guilt when the email never said anything remotely like what they wrote.
-Dates don't match up on their end.
-All of the charges that have changed from the original date have all been reworded.

I have a stack of paper work that has been submitted as official that if anyone sat down and read this would think someone could not read.

I'm wanting to know legally what steps I should think about taking against my job about these. I honestly am tired of the environment and the hostile work environment that has been created.

I know this may be hard to follow but, any help would be great.

Thank you,
Jerron.

You're still fighting your company over something that happened in 2009?

Are you employed elsewhere?

Sounds like your situation was handled badly but not illegally. An illegal termination would be a violation of Federal law, such as firing you because of your race.
 

swalsh411

Senior Member
And you're looking for what exactly? An employer is not a court of law. They are not required to follow any sort of rules of evidence nor even their own policies for that matter. Even if all the evidence is overwhelming in your favor, you have no rights to give your side of the story, or appeal your case. What you should have done as soon as you were suspended was file for unemployment and look for a new job. You continuing to fight with them is pointless. Frankly I'm surprised they still even talk to you. You need to move on with your life.
 
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>Charlotte<

Lurker
It is hard to follow, but if I understand you correctly:

You were accused of doing something you say you didn't do. You were suspended, then terminated, then re-hired. After you returned to work you gained access to your file where you found what you insist are discrepancies, false statements, and fabrications. You believe you are the victim of a hostile work environment and you want to know what legal recourse you have to make them stop harassing you. If that's correct:

Louisiana is an "at-will employment" state. You can be terminated at any time, for any reason, as long as the reason does not violate any law or any employment contract you may have. Such laws include those that prohibit termination based on a protected characteristic such as ethnicity and religion. This does not mean that if you are (for example) Asian you cannot be fired. It means they cannot use your ethnicity (or religion, etc.) as a reason to fire you.

A "hostile work environment" means that you are being subjected to harassment and termination because of one of those protected characteristics. It does not mean that people aren't being nice to you.

There are other exceptions to at-will employment, but none of them are recognized by Louisiana. Basically, you are subject to at-will employment even if you're fired for something you didn't do.

It sounds like they may be treating you unfairly, but not all unfairness is prohibited by law. Regardless of what is in your employment file, what you have posted does not appear to give you any legal recourse. If you want that job you are fortunate that they hired you back (I can't tell if you're still employed by them or not).
 

Jacj3

Junior Member
Yes I am still hired by them and this is a federal job. So the submission of statements said to have been written by me are permissible? The reason I still fight them is 1) I was told I would receive back pay on my return to work once all was cleared. 2) I was issued a reprimand on things I didn't do. Now this may seem easily blown off but that is something that stays on my record along with everything else.

I understand the at will employee part believe me that has been brought up. But, on more than one separate occasion, the same individuals that have provided the false claims in my investigation have been proven to have lied about other employees. Submitting documents claiming my admissions and fact don't really seem to flow right with me. Honestly I am one of many people still with ongoing situations with my employer.

If I could I'd gladly post all or any of the information up for you to read but can not really do that.
 

commentator

Senior Member
Please, no, not really necessary. All there is different about a federal job is that they have a lot more red tape, a lot more regulations, and a lot more HR grievance procedures than a private employer, but everything boils down to the same thing.

It sounds as though you were accused of some sort of gross misconduct, such as stealing, as "amounts and values claimed" and such keep coming up in your verbiage. They accused you of stealing? Misreporting something?

You have been put back to work. And as of now, you are not in any danger of being fired. There should be in your HR system some sort of formal appeal process for HR actions. It sounds as though perhaps you went through this process and were reinstated. Is there any sort of time frame after which you can request that things can be removed from your HR file? But honestly, I think you'd be beating a dead horse to keep going over and over and over what happened to you in 2009, trying to defend yourself and set the record straight. I cannot imagine you'll ever be back paid for that time that you were suspended, even if you hire an attorney and demand it, and it appears to me as though you should be concentrating more on the future, on going forward at your job and not getting any more reprimands.
 
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Jacj3

Junior Member
Yes the accusation is that I stole equipment. That is where the values come from it went from zero to six back down to four. They were never ever able to prove any of their charges against me. But, that was not the original charge brought against me. During my time off it changed over the time frame, up until the point where I said i was contacting an attorney. After that point I was terminated. And an action taken like that is considered retaliation as it has been explained to me my HR, ADR and, ERO departments.

I am looking forward in my life and I am looking to keep my employment under the federal gov just with a different agency. Which is why this is such an issue to me when I think about getting another job. I'll have to check with HR to see if there if a procedure for removing documentation from my record.

I am not the only person who was wronged during this time frame. All this happened under one supervisor who I heard was removed after my termination. 3 years is nothing to these people to keep avoiding and keep pushing off the subject it is also why during my entire 6 months I was off I was the one making calls and sending emails. Never once did they contact me first.
 

commentator

Senior Member
"And an action taken like that is considered retaliation as it has been explained to me my HR, ADR and, ERO departments."

Whoever you talked to, this HR, ADR and ERO, someone in these areas would have been involved in any suspension, write ups and termination procedures you were subjected to in a federal agency, not just your immediate supervisor. There is almost no chance that your department's HR could do something without it being approved higher up, or at least following their procedures.

So for them to tell you that the situation of your being terminated after you had threatened to get a lawyer was retaliation, which is not true anyway, there's something profoundly unusual about them sharing that with you.

If I were you, and I wanted to change departments or areas, I would check with HR about having these things removed from my file, then I would stop mentioning it, stop pushing about it with my agency, stop thinking about it, and above all, when applying to other departments, NEVER NEVER mention it again, or how bad you were treated or how unjust and unfair the work situation was in the place you are trying to get out of. If the new department were to flat out ask you about it, then you'd try to make the very least about it, stress how you were able to get the situation resolved with a few emails and calls.

If they get wind of the fact that you are a person who complains and can't let go of issues, that you threatened to get an attorney and sue the department, that you're still going on about this when you are three years away from it, you're not going to get the job transfer you want.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Okay, fine. It's retaliation, if you insist.

What you don't appear to realize is that not all or even most so-called "retalitaion" in the workplace is illegal. From what you have described, this is not. And even if it were, if this happened in 2009 it's too late to do anything about it now - the SOL has expired.

Move on.
 

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