Wrongful Termination, need help..

[nanaplaza]

June 22, 2005

Dear Members,

I live in California I'm inquiring about what I feel is a wrongful termination by GNC ( General Nutrition Center corporation ). I have been employed with this company for over 3 months, my job title is Sales. I feel my job termination was caused by my manager, due to her lack of management experience. I have been giving the store and bank deposit keys to close the retail store and make trips to the bank ( Bank Of America ) to deposit each ending days work on many occasions. I believe the store manager should not have the authority to give such task of his/her employee because corporation policy require an employee must first finished the Interactive Module Training which I have not yet completed. I have received a call on Monday ( 6/20/05 ) from my work place stating that GNC corporation has notified them that the deposit bag which I had deposited to Bank Of America on Sunday 06/12/05 has not been found through the bank. I found this to be very suspicious due to many similar excuses I have heard before through other co-workers that it is how managers get rid of their workers/employees. On Sunday the 12th , a friend has picked me up from my place of work and drove down the street to make the deposit is a witness. The bank deposit box is in the back of the bank which an employee ( GNC ) used the key to open the box and drop the deposit bag inside. I noticed their are many cameras placed in the bank and could verified that day. I did my job and did NOT misplaced , loose or steal the deposit bag. My manager told me that GNC corporation claimed that there were no deposit bag turned to Bank Of America that day ( Sunday, the 12th ). Why would it took a week for such noticed to happen if that was the fact? There should be 2 records, 1) being the Bank actual record of deposit and 2) the company's record. I strongly believe that GNC and it's management used this illegal easy tactics to wrongfully terminate many of it's employees many time before. I just wanted to know if I have a case here? Is there a way to look into Bank Of America record of that day deposit as proof? I'm a very hard worker and it is not a problem of finding another job, but it is simply the principle that I'm pursuing this matter. I feel as this company is cooking the story to terminate any person they pleased. If the Bank Of America did in fact received my deposit and GNC corp and it's manager made up such accusation, wouldn't they be liable for such termination. As of today, my manager just told me to stay home until GNC resolve the matter. I do not have proof of any document, it's just simply words of accusation from the company and not the bank. What should I do now? Should I wait until they GNC corp. find an answer or should I ask for writing signed document of why I'm at leave from work?

 

[cbg]

You were not wrongfully terminated. You may have been unfairly terminated, but it does not reach the level of a wrongful (illegal) termination.

A wrongful termination does not mean one in which you were fired for something you did not do; nor does it mean one in which you were fired because the company mistakenly believes that you were responsible for something when in fact it was someone else.

In order for a termination to be correctly classified as wrongful, there has to be a specific law that prohibits an employer from firing an employee for the reason they did. The law does not prohibit an employer from firing someone because a deposit got misplaced, even if the company is mistaken about whose responsibility it was or who was in charge of the bag.

Illegal terminations come in two forms, violations of Title VII and violations of public policy. A Title VII violation would mean one in which you were fired BECAUSE OF your race, religion, national origin etc. A public policy violation means that you were fired BECAUSE you applied for or utilized a right or benefit that is protected under the law (FMLA, workers comp, attending a union organizational meeting, reporting unsafe activity to OSHA, etc.)

Even if you could prove positively that you did not misplace the bag and that you completed the drop properly, that would still not make this a wrongful termination.

It would not even be an illegal termination if they cooked this whole issue up to have an excuse to fire you. (BTW, they don't need to do anything of the kind - if they wanted to fire you, all they had to to was tell you that your services were no longer required. California, like every other state except Montana (and in these circumstances would even include Montana) is an at-will state; you can be fired at any time for any reason that does not violate the law, even as you can quit at any time and for any reason.)

In order to prove this a wrongful term. you would not only need to show that they deliberately concocted this whole scheme in order to get rid of you, but also that they did so BECAUSE OF one of the illegal reasons above.

Your best bet is to wait for the results of the investigation. But even if the termination stands, it will not have been an illegal term without some evidence that you were fired in violation of public policy or Title VII.

California law does not require that you be given a written reason for your termination or suspension (except public utilities). So while you can ask them for such a document, they have no legal obligation to provide it.