K
kat_ch
Guest
Trust me - I've described this complicated situation as briefly as possible. Thanks for your patience and help!
I worked in NJ hospital for 7 years, and was promoted to a newly-created Senior position after 4 years. I became very close to my boss, and she relied heavily on me and often called me a "genius." But in the past couple of years she became more uptight and less fair toward all employees. It was an issue that we had discussed, but any improvement was short-lived. Still, I put my all into the job and consistently earned above-average performance evaluations as well as perfect attendance awards.
8 weeks ago I was fired. I had gotten strange vibes from her all week, so I steered clear, thinking it was just a moody phase she was in. But that Friday, a minor discrepancy between us caused her to fly off the handle and shout "you're fired" to me. In shock, got my coat and bag and left, and she shouted, "And don't come back!" as I walked up the stairs. I drove home, stunned and distraught.
On Monday I called the Dept. Head to find out my rights and responsibilities. He said that they were seeking to terminate me on grounds of job abandonment. In tears of disbelief, I called HR, and the Director advised me to go through a Peer Review. I expressed concern that it was my word against hers, and the only witnesses still worked for her. So after that bureaucratic process, the result was disappointing but not surprising - they upheld the termination.
1) I know I'm in an "at-will" state, but still wonder if I have any recourse, since she apparently lied to the Peer Review Committee and the Unemployment Examiner (thankfully, that was approved anyway). I suspect they may have been looking to lay-off someone, especially since they have not yet advertised for a replacement even though we were already stretched beyond our means.
2) I'm worried about receiving poor recommendations, and I'm finding it difficult to explain the situation during interviews. I feel it would be helpful if I could show them my performance reviews, but I only have a few copied as I never thought I'd be in this type of mess. Do I have a right to obtain those records from the HR department?
I worked in NJ hospital for 7 years, and was promoted to a newly-created Senior position after 4 years. I became very close to my boss, and she relied heavily on me and often called me a "genius." But in the past couple of years she became more uptight and less fair toward all employees. It was an issue that we had discussed, but any improvement was short-lived. Still, I put my all into the job and consistently earned above-average performance evaluations as well as perfect attendance awards.
8 weeks ago I was fired. I had gotten strange vibes from her all week, so I steered clear, thinking it was just a moody phase she was in. But that Friday, a minor discrepancy between us caused her to fly off the handle and shout "you're fired" to me. In shock, got my coat and bag and left, and she shouted, "And don't come back!" as I walked up the stairs. I drove home, stunned and distraught.
On Monday I called the Dept. Head to find out my rights and responsibilities. He said that they were seeking to terminate me on grounds of job abandonment. In tears of disbelief, I called HR, and the Director advised me to go through a Peer Review. I expressed concern that it was my word against hers, and the only witnesses still worked for her. So after that bureaucratic process, the result was disappointing but not surprising - they upheld the termination.
1) I know I'm in an "at-will" state, but still wonder if I have any recourse, since she apparently lied to the Peer Review Committee and the Unemployment Examiner (thankfully, that was approved anyway). I suspect they may have been looking to lay-off someone, especially since they have not yet advertised for a replacement even though we were already stretched beyond our means.
2) I'm worried about receiving poor recommendations, and I'm finding it difficult to explain the situation during interviews. I feel it would be helpful if I could show them my performance reviews, but I only have a few copied as I never thought I'd be in this type of mess. Do I have a right to obtain those records from the HR department?
