wrongful termination - other employees upset at my salary

[fredgood]

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

I recently quit my old job to take a newer better opportunity as a project manager with a growing company. However after a few weeks of working with them, the payroll supervisor was discussing my salary with the other admin staff who became upset that I was making more than them. (Even though my position is higher on the executive ladder than theirs?)

Regardless, my boss called me and told me it would be better if I looked for another job opportunity somewhere else, because he did not want to upset the 3 secretaries working there. I quit my old job for this opportunity, so now I am out of both jobs and out of work. Is what my new boss did legal? Can he fire me for something like that, or do I have other rights? Am I entitled to some sort of a severance package?

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[eerelations]

A termination is only wrongful if it was done for a reason prohibited by law - things like your race, gender, religion, age and/or disability. Having a salary that upsets coworkers is not a reason prohibited by law, ergo your termination was not wrongful.

Employers aren't legally obliged to offer severance packages.

I'm not saying this to be mean, in fact I think your former employer is crazy for firing you instead of the payroll administrator. However, "crazy" doesn't necessarily mean "illegal" and in this case, your former employer has done nothing illegal.

[commentator]

And we must allow, the person who terminated you may not have been telling you the absolute truth about the reason you have been let go. No lawsuit there, they can do it. They may have just decided they didn't want to pay somebody this high salary. They may have had a business setback, or recaluculated their assets, or just plain changed their mind, which is perfectly okay for them to do.

File for unemployment insurance immediately. It sounds as though you will be able to draw benefits while looking for another job. I might also suggest that you re-apply to your old employer, if you would be open to that. They may have hated to lose you, and they will be taxed for most of your unemployment insurance anyhow.

[Beth3]

I think your employer is crazy too for not firing the payroll supervisor. Un-freakin'-believable.

However, asking you to move on because you have co-workers upset about your salary is not illegal - it's just incredibly stupid of course.

My suggestion is to return to your boss and calmly discuss the situation with him. Suggest that the problem lies not with you and your salary (which you kept confidential) but with the payroll supervisor who discussed confidential information with others. Ask the boss (nicely) if he'd be willing to rethink the situation as you'd like to stay and plan on doing a great job for them. Then give the boss a day or two to think about it. Hopefully he'll come to his senses.

If not and he still wants you to go, then no, that will not be an unlawful termination nor are you owed any severance. You can certainly remind the boss that you quit another job to take this one and that it's no fault of yours that you're going to be out of work and ask if he'd consider offering some severance.

[Betty]

[url=http://employeeissues.com/wrongful_termination.htm]Wrongful Termination Definition[/url]