• 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.

Wrongly fired?

  • Thread starter CYNTHIA BRACAMO
  • Start date

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

C

CYNTHIA BRACAMO

Guest
The state I live in is califonia. I would like advice on the following situation.

my father was unjustifiably fired from his labor job.
My father is a construction laborer with a union. He had been working with a company for 9 months. They work in teams and his team had been doing the best of all the ones that they had. They transferred them to the most urgent jobs because they did the work quickly. 3 days ago the supervisor (who is white) asked my dad to come an help him direct people away from the whole they were working on because he was having trouble doing this. The supervisor then took my dad's position on the bottom doing more of the labor and my dad continued to direct the traffic above. That evening the team was given shirts and told that the next day they would have a barbecue for the great job they were doing and not to bring lunch. The next day the supervisor again asked my dad to resume on top directing traffic because he did it better than the supervisor did. Later that morning before lunch, my dad was presented with his paycheck and told that they no longer needed his services. The supervisor instructed him that the superintendent had asked him to fire my dad and to drive him to his car. When my dad asked why the supervisor said he did not know that the superintendent had just said he no longer wanted him there. The supervisor had my dad sign a paper of termination. As the supervisor drove my dad to the car, he noticed they mark the area that stated he was not eligible to work at this company anymore or to collect unemployment. My dad told the supervisor he had to talk to the superintendent since 1) he still did not know why he was being fired and 2) they were making him ineligible for unemployment. The superintendent came and said that he could not do anything since he had already marked it and still would not tell my dad why he was being discharged. My dad told him that he would then be contacting the union because he did not agree with them not letting him collect unemployment if this was a lay off. The man said that he would change it to give him a day and see what he could do. My dad contacted the union today and told him the situation. They called the superintendent and asked for a copy of the paper of my dad’s termination. They faxed a different form not the one that my dad signed and it still made him ineligible for unemployment. My dad contacted the Super and requested the form he signed and the unemployment be reinstated. The super said he had destroyed the paper my dad sign and that since my dad had received council from the union he would not let him have unemployment.

My dad said that they first did not tell him that why he was being fired, then told that they were laying him off but could not collect unemployment. My dad did a good job for the company and the only change was the position given to him on top directing traffic, which is a position usually held by the supervisor (white males). They never told him the reason for his discharge and then the super stated that he was being laid off but since he contacted the union, he would be fired without unemployment.

What do you think we could do? Whom should I contact?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You,
Cynthia Bracamontes

[email protected]
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Since you seem to be laying emphasis on the race of the managers, I assume your father is not white?

On the surface, nothing illegal has transpired. However, if your father feels that he has been terminated specifically because of his race, he may have a claim for illegal discrimination. He should contact the EEOC and/or the state discrimination board and report the facts to them.

Oh, and tell him to file for unemployment anyway. The state makes the decision, not the company, and he might get some additional information about why the company says he was fired.
 
C

CYNTHIA BRACAMO

Guest
What about the superintendent stating that since he contacted the union he would not change the termination form so he could receive unemployment. Could this be a case of retaliation since he contacted the union. Is this not illegal?
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Possibly. It depends on your state law. It would be one thing if the superintendent actually had the power to deny benefits. But what you are failing to understand is that it is not up to the company who does or does not get unemployment. It is up to the state. And in every state where I've had anything to do with UI, the initial burden is on the employer to prove to the state that the employee should not get it; not up to the employee to prove that he should. So it doesn't matter what the employer puts on the termination papers; it's not the employer's decision. Your father goes into UI with the understanding that he WILL get unemployment unless the employer can prove to the state that he shouldn't. In order to prove that, the employer is going to have to come up with some very valid reasons why your father should NOT get UI benefits. IF by some strange chance the state agrees with the employer, first your father will have to be notified WHY benefits have been turned down, and secondly, he will have the chance to appeal, which will mean a hearing that he and the employer will both have to attend, so he'll get the chance to face them down.

Basically, your father has nothing to lose and everything to gain by filing for unemployment anyway. Forget about what it says on the termination papers; it doesn't mean a thing.
 
C

curtisd

Guest
i assume the union has also started greivance proceedings if not someones dropping the ball
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

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