State: New York
I had been working for a warehouse company for the last couple months and was still on probation. About 5 weeks ago I injured my shoulder and was placed on light duty for 2 days while i recovered. I hurried back to full duty because I heard that they were known for firing people who were injured. Well about 1 week ago i injured my back because I had to move about 200 35lb cases in 30 minutes inorder to meet their speed requirements. I was placed on light duty by a doctor for the last 5 days. A couple of days ago my supervisor asked me how long I had been employed with them. I said about 2 months, and she said, "oh... well maybe this job isn't for you." infront of two other employees. Well after i got out of work today I received a phone call from my supervisor. She said since I was a probationary employee I was being terminated for using "improper lift techniques" 5 weeks ago when i injured my shoulder. I asked her how she knew i was using improper techniques if I was alone all night. She said that they had to "ASSUME" that since I suffered an injury. I was never warned about using "proper lifting techniques" or retrained when the shoulder injury occured 5 weeks ago. Infact I was trained to carry as many cases as I could in order to meet their speed requirements. Other employees can vouch for that.
There is currently another probationary employee who suffered the same injury and was not terminated.
They have also fired 3 employees the last week who were injured on light duty and receiving compensation. Someone else suffered a shoulder injury last night also.
Can they terminate me for phony unsubstantiated reasons?
Do I have a discrimination case since they did not terminate the other employee with the same injury?
Thank you for any advice.
I had been working for a warehouse company for the last couple months and was still on probation. About 5 weeks ago I injured my shoulder and was placed on light duty for 2 days while i recovered. I hurried back to full duty because I heard that they were known for firing people who were injured. Well about 1 week ago i injured my back because I had to move about 200 35lb cases in 30 minutes inorder to meet their speed requirements. I was placed on light duty by a doctor for the last 5 days. A couple of days ago my supervisor asked me how long I had been employed with them. I said about 2 months, and she said, "oh... well maybe this job isn't for you." infront of two other employees. Well after i got out of work today I received a phone call from my supervisor. She said since I was a probationary employee I was being terminated for using "improper lift techniques" 5 weeks ago when i injured my shoulder. I asked her how she knew i was using improper techniques if I was alone all night. She said that they had to "ASSUME" that since I suffered an injury. I was never warned about using "proper lifting techniques" or retrained when the shoulder injury occured 5 weeks ago. Infact I was trained to carry as many cases as I could in order to meet their speed requirements. Other employees can vouch for that.
There is currently another probationary employee who suffered the same injury and was not terminated.
They have also fired 3 employees the last week who were injured on light duty and receiving compensation. Someone else suffered a shoulder injury last night also.
Can they terminate me for phony unsubstantiated reasons?
Do I have a discrimination case since they did not terminate the other employee with the same injury?
Thank you for any advice.
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