taken off clock, investigation

[ronss]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? arizona

i am a certified nursing assisstant-

criminal history- in 1994, got a dui, may, june another dui on suspended lisc, felony,, aggravated assault....everything was taken care off , vactated, rights restored,,,went through fingerprint thing twice due to changes in law..have been working about the last 9 yrs without any problems...leggally working as certified nursing assisstant,,,...

okay..the medical rehabiltation employment i have been working at, did background checks a month ago.

last thursday-came to work, was called into the office, administrator brought up the aggravated dui that happen 15 yrs ago, i told him i drove on suspended lisc, coming home from a party...and thats what happpen,, but everything was taken careoff...he said i should get a lawyer, i cound not understand why,,,,and he said he had to take me off the clock...i thought , why, i am legal to work in this state....he said i would need documents...and he also hinted that the company had a thing with this.

friday-went and got document, discharge, rights restored docuement, brought it back to my administrator, he brought me into the office,,,,and thanked me for getting the paper work...said he would patch things together and will get back...

monday-still have not heard anything..i cannot afford to be off work due to my huge credit card debt...i now am on my 3 rd day off, they know i am on a tight budget, i told one people in charge awhile back...

its now been thurs, friday , sat , sun , mon,,,,i have not been able to work...is my boss not suppose to tell me if i am fired? the lady at the court said he could not hold this past offense against me,,,and i am legal to work as a cna...i am lost what to do..how much time i should give my boss to put me back on the time clock,,i don,t think he legally should have been able to take me off the clock...ron

 

[Hot Topic]

Was the "lady at the court" a lawyer? If not, she had no business giving you or anyone else legal advice.

It's your problem, not the company's, that you have a "huge" debt to the credit card company. And they don't have to care about your "tight" budget.

Your background demonstrates that you weren't a responsible person, and your current debt indicates that you've learned nothing.

All you can do is call your boss about your situation. As far as I know, you can't force him to do anything.

 

[ronss]

well...i believe my boss needs to tell me if i am fired or not, and does have luxuary to take as long as he wants...either i am still on the payrolll, or not...if he does not want me ,,,he needs to tell me...

did you read the whole message, it bascially about the adminstrator right to take me off the clock, when i am legal to work as a cna...he brought up past history that was taken care of years ago, and should not have a bearing on my right to work today..the ariozna state board of nursing has given me the right to work in this state, and has since i started,....the dui was driving on a suspended lisc, i quite drinking in 95....

 

[cbg]

Surprisingly enough, there is no law requiring that your employer tell you, you've been fired.

 

[mlane58]

Well you can believe what you want to, but your employer isn't under any legal obligation to tell you anything.

 

[ronss]

He has taken me off the clock because of the dui that happen 15 yrs ago..it should have no bearing on my right to work as a cna...the state board of nursing has granted me the right to work as a cna, and i went throught all the requirements needed by the state board,,the fingerprint card was actually my biggest hurdle...he is going above the law and making his own....he sort of hinted that the company did not want people with dui.s working there..that does not seem right,,,

as for being fired..i cannot colect un-employment in arizona without being fired...if he says nothing and i assume that i am fired and go file...he might say i was not fired.

i called today, and the director of nursing said she would call , and they will have a meeting? not sure if its to fire me,,or get my head on striaght...the only problem i when, i don,t have the luxury to go a week or two on this, she didn,t tell me when the meeting is.

 

[Some Random Guy]

Start looking for another job. Once off for a week, file for unemployment.

On your job application, did you truthfully answer all questions, including those about proir convictions?

 

[ronss]

Start looking for another job. Once off for a week, file for unemployment.

On your job application, did you truthfully answer all questions, including those about proir convictions?

yes, i answered everything correctly on application , i worked there through a temp agency for 4 yrs before being hired on ...so i have been there 13yrs....once i had to go in front of the state board of nursing and state my plea, and i was actually going to nursing school at that time, and was working at the facilitly but was under different owner .they knew all about it....though it was under different management and a nursing home then.....and then my fingerprint card had to be re-instated because of change in law and this dui, and so i had to deal with it again and the nursing home knew about it that time....after that, have had no problems in the last 8 years until last week when i was brought into the office , taken off the clock because of the dui that happen 15 yrs ago. i am absolutely legal to work as a cna, he sort of silently hinted that the company had issues with someone on the payroll with aggravated dui,,,,regardless of when it happened or outcome...i toke the court paper to him friday with discharge and rights restored, he hardly looked at it....as far as i can tell,,he has no right to take me off the payroll because of this.

i was handling my credit card payment okay until this happen, ,,one week without work ,and i might not be able to catch up.

 

[Hot Topic]

You had two driving under the influence charges, one in May and one in June of '94; one occurred while you were driving with a suspended license. You also mentioned aggravated assault.

I don't think that yours is a protected class. In other words, I don't know of any law that would prevent the company from terminating you.

 

[ronss]

so employers can fire anyone with dui,s for years ago..we are talking about 2 decades...i am legal to work as a cna, regardless of that, the boss does not like people with dui,s...so he can just fire all people with duis....that does not seem fair..so why don,t we just fire all people with speeding tickets

 

[ecmst12]

Fair is irrelevent. It's legal.

 

[cbg]

You seem to be under the impression that because you can legally work as a CNA, the employer is somehow prohibited from firing you.

That is not the case. Google at-will employment.

Fair and Legal are not synonymous.

 

[commentator]

Sign up for your unemployment insurance. Your separation is not based on any current misconduct or anything that you could at this time, have changed to keep your job. So you are actully out of work through no fault of your own.

You should, thankfully, with a CNA qualification, be able to find another job more quickly than many. It sounds very much as if this job, regardless of how long you have worked there, or why they say you are terminated, is over. But it is not necessary for you to wait until they send you out a letter or an official termination notice to file for unemployment and to move on seeking other jobs.

I'd probably call my supervisor, if I were you, and lay it on the line. Not about how bad I need my money ( we assume everyone who's working is doing so because they need the money.) I would just say that I needed to be given guidance. If I am terminated, then I need to move on. I would appreciate information about my situation. Don't beg, plead, demand or anything. If they want to fire you, they can do so. It is legal, as others have pointed out. Not fair, maybe, but if they wanted to it would be legal for them to fire people with speeding tickets.

DO NOT let them twist you around to say you are quitting instead of letting them terminate you. You have obviously done nothing at this time to deserve your firing. If they have to find something from that long ago to use as a reason to get rid of you, that is good for your side. Your reference will not be protected if you say you voluntarily quit, it would make it look like they really did have something bad on you.

Move on. It isn't fair, but it is legal. So you have the one choice. Move on.

 

[ronss]

thanks all

i was let go today....had been there for 10 years..as for the dui charge, he said it was not the major factor in letting me go..though he hinted a couple of days ago that company frowned upon it...he said also i had a lot of write-ups on the past few years. also. i did not meet the level or professionallism they wanted.....true,,but i also told my boss lot of those were not warranted, more because someone did not like me,,and wrote me up for things i should have not...they said they would not hold this against me in applying for other work. ,,,just that i worked there

every applicaton i have seen has if they can contact my previous employer...should i say yes or no???????????????????????????????????

 

[pattytx]

Your choice, but a "no" is going to immediately raise a red flag in the eye of a prospective employer. Besides, your "request" is not binding on the prospective employer.

You want to head this situation off up front, BEFORE a prospective employer contacts your previous one. "You may not receive a good reference from XX. Although I had some problems many years ago, I cleaned up my act and have stayed out of trouble ever since. Unfortunately, XX decided to discharge me, presumably for these old issues."

Congrats for pulling yourself together and staying clean. Since your certification is still valid, you should be able to get another job soon, I hope. Good CNAs are hard to come by.