What is the name of your state?
Hello and Thank you to anyone who replies.
My husband was terminated by his employer for "Breaking One of the Cardinal Rules". We wouldn't have a problem with him being fired except for the fact that he was following the directions given to him by the guy training him during his 180 day probationary period. The trainer dropped his inkpen into one of the machine's he was using and this caused the machine to be locked and tagged out. My hubby was working with the trainer and at the time the trainer put his lock on the machine. When the trainer put his lock on the machine, rather than getting the correct type of lockout/tagout device needed so that the trainer and my husband BOTH could put their locks on the machine, it made it so that my husband could not put his lock anywhere on the machine. Because my husband was in his probationary period he didn't want to seem like he was trying to argue or doubt his trainer but because he wanted to make sure he followed company rules, he went ahead and asked the trainer he wasn't supposed to put his lock on the machine too. The trainer shook his head in a No gesture and said these exact words "I got mine on there". This wouldn't have been so bad, but while the trainer was bent over trying to suck powder out of the machine his pen was in, my husband felt sorry for him because he was so tall(and my husband isn't) that he asked him if he wanted him to suck some of the powder out for him to give his back a rest. The trainer said absolutely nothing and handed him the hose. While my husband was doing this the main safety guy of the plant came walking by and noticed that the trainer's lock was the only one on the machine. This is when all heck broke lose. My husband should not have been sucking the powder of the machine since his lock was not on the machine. BUT he didn't know this because he hand't been trained on that yet. That was the hole point of him having a trainer that was supposed to be the guy with the knowledge and experience. The trainer, who had been in trouble and demoted before, was fired after the official inquiry, along with my husband. The company said they had to because it was actually my husband that had broke the "Cardinal Rule". We were shocked and he was hard broken. He always volunteered for overtime, stayed over, etc. did everything they asked, and the company turns around and fires him for a rule that his trainer caused him to not be able to follow. It would be different if the company hadn't acknowledged that they realized the trainer caused the problem and was at fault for misleading him on at least two occasion during this whole mess, but then for the company to fire him just floored us. We need to know if there is any legal recourse we can take? The company said they would give him a good referrence and wasn't going to fight unemployment insurance but we didn't get it so they lied about that. Now he has had to take a $9.00 an hour job versus the $17.00 an hour job he had and it is financially killing us, not to mention it devasted my husband emotionally. Now the company won't even return our phone calls to at least help us get my husband's portion of his retirement fund he paid in while he was there.
Please, if anyone has advice or knows someone who could help us, please email me direct.
Thank you!
Tarina
Hello and Thank you to anyone who replies.
My husband was terminated by his employer for "Breaking One of the Cardinal Rules". We wouldn't have a problem with him being fired except for the fact that he was following the directions given to him by the guy training him during his 180 day probationary period. The trainer dropped his inkpen into one of the machine's he was using and this caused the machine to be locked and tagged out. My hubby was working with the trainer and at the time the trainer put his lock on the machine. When the trainer put his lock on the machine, rather than getting the correct type of lockout/tagout device needed so that the trainer and my husband BOTH could put their locks on the machine, it made it so that my husband could not put his lock anywhere on the machine. Because my husband was in his probationary period he didn't want to seem like he was trying to argue or doubt his trainer but because he wanted to make sure he followed company rules, he went ahead and asked the trainer he wasn't supposed to put his lock on the machine too. The trainer shook his head in a No gesture and said these exact words "I got mine on there". This wouldn't have been so bad, but while the trainer was bent over trying to suck powder out of the machine his pen was in, my husband felt sorry for him because he was so tall(and my husband isn't) that he asked him if he wanted him to suck some of the powder out for him to give his back a rest. The trainer said absolutely nothing and handed him the hose. While my husband was doing this the main safety guy of the plant came walking by and noticed that the trainer's lock was the only one on the machine. This is when all heck broke lose. My husband should not have been sucking the powder of the machine since his lock was not on the machine. BUT he didn't know this because he hand't been trained on that yet. That was the hole point of him having a trainer that was supposed to be the guy with the knowledge and experience. The trainer, who had been in trouble and demoted before, was fired after the official inquiry, along with my husband. The company said they had to because it was actually my husband that had broke the "Cardinal Rule". We were shocked and he was hard broken. He always volunteered for overtime, stayed over, etc. did everything they asked, and the company turns around and fires him for a rule that his trainer caused him to not be able to follow. It would be different if the company hadn't acknowledged that they realized the trainer caused the problem and was at fault for misleading him on at least two occasion during this whole mess, but then for the company to fire him just floored us. We need to know if there is any legal recourse we can take? The company said they would give him a good referrence and wasn't going to fight unemployment insurance but we didn't get it so they lied about that. Now he has had to take a $9.00 an hour job versus the $17.00 an hour job he had and it is financially killing us, not to mention it devasted my husband emotionally. Now the company won't even return our phone calls to at least help us get my husband's portion of his retirement fund he paid in while he was there.
Please, if anyone has advice or knows someone who could help us, please email me direct.
Thank you!
Tarina
