• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Wrongful termination / lost wage

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

Jamie Kelley

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? North Carolina

I have recently been fired from a job (Robotics Technician) because I took out a restraining order on a co-worker who continually harassed and eventually assaulted me...

Currently, I am pursuing a claim for lost wages...

My question is: How is the lost wage calculated and for what duration of time am I entitled to it?
 


pattytx

Senior Member
Do you not have an attorney that can help you?

In any case, if you were exempt, your weekly salary. If you were nonexempt, your scheduled hours X hourly rate. If you regularly got overtime, the average over a certain period of time.
 
Last edited:

Jamie Kelley

Junior Member
pattytx said:
Do you not have an attorney that can help you?

In any case, if you were exempt, your weekly salary. If you were nonexempt, your scheduled hours X hourly rate. If you regularly got overtime, the average over a certain period of time.
Patty,
Currently seeking an attorney...
Hourly employee~
Consistently allowed 10+ hours of overtime per week~
Am I entitled to lost wage until I find a new job...and then the difference?
...And for how long?
 

Beth3

Senior Member
No one here can answer those questions. (a) You may not be entitled to anything (it hasn't been established that your employer acted unlawfully) and (b) you are required to make a reasonable effort to mitigate damages - in other words, to find a new job. Even if your employer did violate the law or public policy in terminating you, you aren't automatically entitled to back pay for the entire period of time you have been unemployed.

You really need to discuss your situation with a local employment law attorney for specific advice.
 

Jamie Kelley

Junior Member
Beth3 said:
No one here can answer those questions. (a) You may not be entitled to anything (it hasn't been established that your employer acted unlawfully) and (b) you are required to make a reasonable effort to mitigate damages - in other words, to find a new job. Even if your employer did violate the law or public policy in terminating you, you aren't automatically entitled to back pay for the entire period of time you have been unemployed.

You really need to discuss your situation with a local employment law attorney for specific advice.
Ok...
Without posting the 40+ pages of evidence and court rulings in my favor thusfar...let's just say hypothethically, I am entitled~
So, here is a good question: Certainly, I don't want to loose a reference for something that wasn't my fault...And a perspective employer will look at a long stretch of unemployment suspiciously...What if I list this company on my resume or application...and they are called for a reference...The supervisor gives a load of bad information...Thereby, denying my ability to obtain future employment! Is there anything I can do about potential lost wage?
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
If you are asking if there is any way you can sue to prevent your former employer from saying anything negative about you potentially, no, you can't. You can't sue for something that might happen.

IF the employer says something either negligent or untrue to a prospective employer AND as a direct result you don't get the job AND you can prove that, THEN you can take legal action. Not before.
 

Jamie Kelley

Junior Member
cbg said:
If you are asking if there is any way you can sue to prevent your former employer from saying anything negative about you potentially, no, you can't. You can't sue for something that might happen.

IF the employer says something either negligent or untrue to a prospective employer AND as a direct result you don't get the job AND you can prove that, THEN you can take legal action. Not before.
CBG,

Thanks for the input...
I'm sorry if I gave a mis-interpretation~
I did not mean "for something that might happen"...
I did mean direct "deformation of character" (after the fact)~
Though it would be nice to know what they would say before it cost me a job...
Which brings about another question: What if I had a friend in HR call from a ligitimate company for a reference and tape record their response?
If their response was ill advised (as I suspect) could I use that recording to pin a "deformation" suit on them?


BTW: Here is a summary of what happened...

Spego Summary of Events

• Endured abuse (consisting of: harassment, badgering, belittling and eventually 2 counts of physical assault) at Spego for almost 7 months because:
1. I have a relatively passive personality.
2. I did not want to bother Clint (company VP) with the situation.
3. Roy (the floor supervisor) insisted that he was my boss and I did not want to question it for fear that I would loose my job.
4. Roy (being 100 + lbs. larger than myself) threatened to “bust my head” if I spoke to anyone in higher level management about him.
• After continually getting sick at my stomach with relating stress, I finally felt like my nerves could not handle any more of Roy’s bullying attitude. So, I spoke to Clint about Roy’s actions…During our meeting, he laughed at the problem…and I assured him that I did not think it was funny!
• The harrassment continued…Confused, I talked to Clint again…I asked him what he had said to Roy after our first discussion. He said: “Nothing, because I wanted to see what it would escalate into.”
• My second discussion with Clint only resulted in Roy returning to me laughing…Roy said: “Clint told me that you were up here telling on me!” He threatens to “Bust my head if I say anything else to Clint or get in his path”!
• Later that day, after continuous badgering, I decide the situation is unbearable and have a third talk with Clint about Roy’s hostility; making sure that he fully understood the seriousness of the problem. The next morning, only after Roy assaulted me as he came through the back door, did I see Clint briefly addressed the situation…However, very loosely I’m certain…Roy did slack somewhat on he actions…but not for long…
• Approximately 2 ½ weeks after our third discussion, Roy continued his hostility which ended in a second physical assault. I tried to get Clint to relieve the situation, but he chose to avoid the problem.
• I had no other choice but to seek legal intervention in the form of a restraining order.
• The next day (Friday) I told Clint what had taken place and he sent me home. He asked that I call him later that evening. I left two messages on his cell phone and had Tracee ask him directly to return my call. He did not reply.
• Saturday, I called him from a restricted line at about 12:30…and he picked up. Clint quickly put me off saying that he was having lunch and he would have to call me back.
• Monday, Clint finally returned my call. He informed me that I should stay home Tuesday. Furthermore, he said that he would pay me for Friday and Tuesday since it wasn’t my fault that I was not working (have recorded message). My next check does not reflect any payment as he indicated.
• Tuesday, I called Clint to find out if I should report to work Wednesday. He did not answer his phone, so I left two messages asking that he let me know his intensions for my employment with Spego. Clint never returned those calls either.
• At that point, I called the EEOC and spoke to Bob about the situation. He advised that me to view the situation as I had been fired and I should seek unemployment immediately.
• Wednesday, I went to the ESC and explained my situation. It was agreed that I had been fired. Consequently, I applied for unemployment benefits.
• Thursday, I went to court seeking a permenent restraining order against Roy (it was awarded).
• Friday, I went to pick up my check from Darla in HR. She is aware of the situation. I tell her that I am doing better now that a permanent restraining order has been issued. She sympathizes and says that Stan (manager of Turnamics) wanted to talk to me…possibly about a job at Turnamics (handles CNC production). Stan was not currently in the office and I decline his audience none-the-less because: I did not want to get into a long explanation of the events with someone who had nothing to do with the situation. Clint was throwing off his responsibility to handle the matter on him…Stan is the manager of Turnamics…consequently, any position that Stan would have offered would have been working for Turnamics in a lesser capacity. Effectively, I would be demoted (through no fault of my own) from my previous position as a Robotics Technician working for Spego (call it an attempt at “constructive termination”) More likely, I felt like Clint had just told Stan to fire me (which was later confirmed in Stan’s reply to the ESC). It was documented that I was, in fact, fired for being insubordinate to the floor supervisor (the same man who assaulted me).
• Friday, Darla leaves a message on my home answering machine at approximately 4:00 asking that I return my rental clothes and key to Spego when I recover my toolbox.
• Friday, on my way to Kentucky (about 7:30), I note a missed call from Clint…when I check my messages, his is almost entirely static. After having been subject to his neglect of the issue up to now, I figure the call can only be an attempt to cover his tracks. I erase the call and do not return it.
• Tuesday (Sept. 20th), after giving Clint more than 2 weeks to consider the issue…hoping he would do the right thing and call me back to my original position as a Robotics Technician working for Spego, I am advised by an attorney to get an arrest warrant for Roy’s assault. Later that day, I also check Buncombe county records and find Roy has a 3 page history of criminal offenses.
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
Jamie Kelley said:
Ok...
Without posting the 40+ pages of evidence and court rulings in my favor thusfar...let's just say hypothethically, I am entitled~
So, here is a good question: Certainly, I don't want to loose a reference for something that wasn't my fault...And a perspective employer will look at a long stretch of unemployment suspiciously...What if I list this company on my resume or application...and they are called for a reference...The supervisor gives a load of bad information...Thereby, denying my ability to obtain future employment! Is there anything I can do about potential lost wage?
You could tell a prospective employer the truth about what happened; I have hired people who have been fired and/or left other employment on less than great terms.

I don't give a rip what someone ELSE thinks about a prospective employee; all I care about is what I think!
 

Jamie Kelley

Junior Member
seniorjudge said:
You could tell a prospective employer the truth about what happened; I have hired people who have been fired and/or left other employment on less than great terms.

I don't give a rip what someone ELSE thinks about a prospective employee; all I care about is what I think!
It would be certainly be nice if more employers had your mentality...
Unfortunately, I believe most are going to look at it from this standpoint:
(Even if they give me the opportunity to state my side of the situation)
They will think it is a waste of their time~
...And I will be stuck with the burden of proof that frankly, no perspective employer wants to hear or get mixed up in...
 
I completely understand your concerns about a prospective employer....I too was discharged from employment after 5 years for an "insubordinate" act. There are 2 sides to every story, but bottom line is..we were fired--and how do you honestly explain this to a potential employer without them assuming you must be not worth hiring???
 

Jamie Kelley

Junior Member
Job_Hunting said:
I completely understand your concerns about a prospective employer....I too was discharged from employment after 5 years for an "insubordinate" act. There are 2 sides to every story, but bottom line is..we were fired--and how do you honestly explain this to a potential employer without them assuming you must be not worth hiring???

Damed if I know...
But I can say this:
1. In the 8 months that I worked there, I was consistently given 10+ hrs of overtime ($6,692 in 8 mths.)~
2. I was never given a written repremand for anything~
3. The VP of the company admitted that I was at home through no fault of my own (but he sent me home???!!!)
4. Two judges found in my favor for temp. then perm. restraining orders plus a magistrate saw fit to issue an arrest warrant (regarding the assault)~
5. I have 4 written recommendations from previous employers~
6. I have an AS in Mechanical Engineering (3.78 GPA)~
7. The supervisor who assaulted me has a 3 page rap sheet~
8. The company was given every opportunity to do the right thing...

But, here I sit without a job...while those ****s continue with their employment without a care! :mad:
 
So are you looking for a new job now? Are you worried that the background check will reveal something negative here? That is my concern--be honest and probably not get the job...or LIE and they find out in a background check and....not get the job. Are we screwed now adays if something goes wrong at a job or what????
 

Jamie Kelley

Junior Member
Yes, I am currently looking for a job~

But, good luck in my area...(most employers want a bachelor's degree for the kind of work I'm used to...)~

Here is one bit of info...Legally, past employers are not supposed to give any info about your employment other than:acknowledge that you worked there, your title and dates of employment~

But, that may or may not stop them from saying anything else...like "no he is not elidgable for rehire because..."!

At that point, I want to know that I can sue them for "deformation of character"! :mad:
 
That is what I thought also, but a lot of people responded to a post of mine yesterday that past employers can tell them just about anything if it's truthful.....that does not make sense to me, I truly thought all they could do was basically verify employment dates, title, that sort of thing--
 

pattytx

Senior Member
Job_hunting, that's the way it is. You were under the spell of the "employment law myth". There's hundreds of them out there; this was just one.

Good luck.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top