Termination versus Policy???

[TheComet]

What is the name of your state? Texas

I was recently terminated under duress. The City that I was working for has a policy in force called "Discipline without Punishment". It basicly states that an employee must:
1 - Be verbally warned to stop the activity or further warnings will be required.

2 - Be verbally warned a second time to stop the activity.

3 - Be warned in writing (third time) to stop the activity.

4 - Be terminated.

I was never warned but one time, never in writing, and then I was fired.

I have hired an attorney and are in the process of suing the City for wrongful termination but was wondering if any of you have had a similar situation and what was your outcome.

Thanks - TheComet - Located in the largest city in the USA without an Interstate Highway...

 

[cbg]

1.) The facts in your post do not have a case for wrongful termination. A wrongful termination means that it is ILLEGAL to term you for the reason they did. It is NOT illegal to skip one or more steps in a disciplinary policy unless that policy is written in such a way as to constitute a contract AND guarantees that each and every step will be followed in each and every case. Few, if any companies would bind themselves to something like that as it would mean an employee who committed an act of violence or was caught red-handed stealing as a first offense could only get a verbal warning.

2.) IF AND ONLY IF the policy reaches the level of a contract (which is possible but not likely) then you may have a case for breach of contract, which is not the same thing. But nothing in your post suggests that you were wrongfully terminated, under the legal definition of that term.

 

[Beth3]

I was recently terminated under duress. The City that I was working for has a policy in force called "Discipline without Punishment". It basicly states that an employee must:
1 - Be verbally warned to stop the activity or further warnings will be required.

2 - Be verbally warned a second time to stop the activity.

3 - Be warned in writing (third time) to stop the activity.

4 - Be terminated.

So taken at face value, that means that Employee A could violently assault Employee B and the only action the employer could take would be to verbally warn Employee A to stop it (while the ambulance hauled Employee B off to the ER or the morgue.) And further, the employer would have to tolerate Employee A violently assaulting co-workers on three more occasions before he or she could be terminated.

Surely you see the extremely unlikelihood that there isn't more to your employer's progressive discipline policy than what you've posted.