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andr0195

Guest
What is the name of your state?MN

My wife was fired from her job as a waitress at Perkins restaurant in Minnesota.

She had one incident with a customer, who called to complain. The following morning, she explained to the manager on duty what had happened. The next day she got a call, that she was suspended for a week "pending further investagation." A week later, got the call that her services were no longer required.

What is the law concerning final paycheck? She was being billed for the last 3 months for health insurance that she canceled. She spoke with HR literally 10 times about it, but they didnt cancel the policy, and now wont return the money from the months of service. In Minnesota, does an employer have to have some just cause for termination?
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Story of what happened, if it matters:
She works evenings.. 10pm until 6am the following morning. During this shift, she is the only "front" person on, and one cook in back. She had 10 tables or so, when she got a phone call from a local hospital asking for a takeout order. Eight people ordered, asking for separate checks, and for their food to be bagged separately. Most waitresses wouldnt even take such an order, at night... alone. She did the best she could with the tables she had, and took another 1/2 hour bagging up the take out order, getting sauces, forks, etc.
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The woman came to pick up the food, was very rude, and didnt tip anything.

During the 30-45 minutes that my wife was dealing with this customer, she lost out on 10+ tips from the tables that were already eating, as well as several customers that couldnt get seated, becasue she was busy.

A short while later, business calmed down, and my wife called the takeout person back. She explained that most servers wouldnt accept a takeout order, when they are all alone, and that she had lost out on a lot of potential customers helping her. She further stated that if the customer didnt want to give a tip, a smile and a thank you would go a long way, for a server that went out of their way to help, when they shouldnt.
 


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andr0195

Guest
also, is an employer requred to give a reason in writing for termination? Shes very confused exactly where she went wrong in this situation.

Also, is there a way to "tell others" about how she was treated, so other potential waitresses/customers wont deal with a company who treats their people like this?
 

gryndor

Member
andr0195 said:
also, is an employer requred to give a reason in writing for termination? Shes very confused exactly where she went wrong in this situation.
I would say that this was where she went wrong, and furthermore, if I had gotten a call like this chastising me for my behavior, I would complain too.


andr0195 said:
A short while later, business calmed down, and my wife called the takeout person back. She explained that most servers wouldnt accept a takeout order, when they are all alone, and that she had lost out on a lot of potential customers helping her. She further stated that if the customer didnt want to give a tip, a smile and a thank you would go a long way, for a server that went out of their way to help, when they shouldnt.
andr0195 said:
Also, is there a way to "tell others" about how she was treated, so other potential waitresses/customers wont deal with a company who treats their people like this?
No. Move on.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
The only state that requires just cause for termination is Montana, and even Montana does not require it in all circumstances. Minnesota, like every other state except Montana, is an at-will state, which means that you can quit at any time and for any reason, and you can be fired at any time and for any reason not specifically prohibited by law. Based on what you have written, no laws have been violated in this instance. (A customer complaint can be considered just cause.)

No state requires an employer to provide a written reason for the termination at the time the employee is termed. However, under Minnesota law, IF your wife makes a WRITTEN request within 15 days of her termination, the employer is required to provide her with a letter giving the reason for her termination. (What reason, other than a customer complaint, are you looking for?)

Minnesota law requires that whan an employee is fired, they must receive their final pay within 24 hours. If this has not happened, she can file a complaint with the state DOL.

I'm sorry, but I can't follow what you're talking about with the insurance.

She is free to tell anyone she likes what happened. However, she should stand clear of some of the suggestions that I've seen on such board in other threads, such as petitions, websites, flyers etc. all dedicated to take business away from the employer. Such things have a way of backfiring and have been known to result in lawsuits. She should also be careful that she tell the exact truth if she talks to friends or family, not coloring it to emphasize her side of the story, unless she is prepared to be on the receiving end of a libel suit.

If you will permit me to say so, your wife showed very poor judgement in calling the woman with the takeout order back and essentially "scolding" her. I'm not altogether sure I wouldn't have, at the very least, put her on final warning for that.
 
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andr0195

Guest
Yea.. I understand that it was a poor decision.. and I knew it was probably not illegal for them to fire her.. I was just curious =P

She didnt call back to chastize them.. she called back to say that under normal circumstances, a waitress would simply not answer the phone when alone... and if they did, a 10 person carry out order would be told "sorry, call back in the morning"

I guess the only reason she and I are upset is after a year at this job, without a single complaint, she got fired for her 1st "poor judgement" call. She has seen others spit in food, managers call in sick for weeks at a time, people nocall/noshow for 2-3 sessions in a row, and not be fired...

As to the insurance thing. Basically, she signed up for insurance. Later, I got insurance through my work. We got married, and no longer needed her insurance. She called, and they still billed her for several weeks even though it wasnt needed. To date, the still havent paid the one claim we did have for our son's ER visit.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
That may not have been her intent in calling back, but I guarantee you, that's how it came across.

As far as the insurance goes, two very important questions:

1.) Does her portion of the insurance come out of her paycheck pre-tax or post tax? If post tax, does she have the option of having it come out pre-tax?

2.) How long after your marriage did she ask to drop the coverage?
 
cbg said:
She is free to tell anyone she likes what happened. However, she should stand clear of some of the suggestions that I've seen on such board in other threads, such as petitions, websites, flyers etc. all dedicated to take business away from the employer. Such things have a way of backfiring and have been known to result in lawsuits. She should also be careful that she tell the exact truth if she talks to friends or family, not coloring it to emphasize her side of the story, unless she is prepared to be on the receiving end of a libel suit.
Not to hijack the thread or anything, but the advice you offered on this subject https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=203320 SEEMS to fly in the face of the advice some self appointed experts had to give. Just wondering if these topics would be similiar.

D8D
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
No, they really aren't all that similar.

Anyone can give their opinion about anything.

However, the OP is asking about "going public" for the specific purpose of stopping other potential employees from applying and potential customers from patronizing that restaurant. There IS such a thing as "tortuous interference" with the restaurant's business. And frankly, whether they want to recognize it or not, in this instance the the OP's wife was in the wrong.

So, I am suggesting that if she makes the (very bad) decision to tell others about this, she keep strictly to the facts. Truth is a defense against defamation claims.
 

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