• 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.

Wrongful allegations

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

flemployee

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida. I work for a company who supplies me with free rent. Recently I was it was implied to me by a company email that my free rent was and had been in error for some time. The email indicated that I was to start paying full rent in a matter of days and that full rent was never authorized. I received days later an additional letter outlining various products that I had purchased on a company credit account indicating they were not for business use. I have subsequently found written documentation proving otherwise. This matter is now known through a good portion of the company including corporate headquarters and has even filtered out to some of the sites in our company. I am going to present my findings to the company, but am uncertain as to my continued employement. I have worked for this company for over 10 years and have had glowing evaluations, awards and several promotions. I do not feel I have been treated professionally or fairly regarding this matter and wonder what recourse I have
 


mlane58

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida. I work for a company who supplies me with free rent. Recently I was it was implied to me by a company email that my free rent was and had been in error for some time. The email indicated that I was to start paying full rent in a matter of days and that full rent was never authorized. I received days later an additional letter outlining various products that I had purchased on a company credit account indicating they were not for business use. I have subsequently found written documentation proving otherwise. This matter is now known through a good portion of the company including corporate headquarters and has even filtered out to some of the sites in our company. I am going to present my findings to the company, but am uncertain as to my continued employement. I have worked for this company for over 10 years and have had glowing evaluations, awards and several promotions. I do not feel I have been treated professionally or fairly regarding this matter and wonder what recourse I have
Recourse for what? Nothing you have posted suggests even remotely that your employer has done anything to violate any laws.
 

pattytx

Senior Member
Unfortunately, the law cares neither about employers being "professional" or "fair".

Did you have a bona fide employment contract regarding your rent? Was it part of your compensation package?
 

swalsh411

Senior Member
Even if you presented ironclad evidence that you did absolutely nothing wrong there is no law that says you could not be fired regardless. Your recourse would be to file for unemployment while you look for another job.
 

commentator

Senior Member
You can, and certainly should, attempt to work this out with your employer. If you have something in writing that documents you were given free rent, I'd be ready to show them a copy of this. Also the paper documentation you have that shows you did not make inappropriate charges, etc. Whatever they're supposedly accusing you of doing. Sounds to me like this is just sort of company buzz, you're hearing a lot of it from people who've talked to people, the gossip circuit. If they have not requested a meeting with you, I'd immediately request a formal meeting, not just an email correspondence with your employer.

But other than meeting with your supervisors and showing them that you do not believe there has been any wrongdoing on your part, expressing a willingness to get these issues straightened up, telling them you do not want to lose your job, that you would like to continue doing a good job for them as you have in the past....if they then say, "We don't believe you, you're fired," then that's the way it is.

Your only recourse beyond this is to file for unemployment benefits and move on. Florida is an "at will" state. You can't sue them for firing you, and yes, you probably haven't been treated fairly, but that's unfortunately not illegal.
 
Last edited:

swalsh411

Senior Member
you probably haven't been treated fairly, but that's unfortunately not illegal.
Do you have any inkling of the pandora's box that would be opened up if it were made illegal to treat employees "unfairly"? How would you even make a law like that?

Person A gets fired because they had a conflict with Person B and now they will win a lawsuit if that can show that it was "unfair", or that the company really should have fired Person B? It goes against the very heart of at-will employment and would stifle the job market. (which is the last thing we need right now)
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Not to mention the fact that what is and is not "fair" can be very subjective, and different employees can have a different opinion on whether the same action is "fair".

Example: Jack has been with the company for 20 years. His reviews are decent, but not exceptional; he comes to work, does his job reasonably well, and goes home. He is the senior member of the department and it is assumed that he will eventually take over as head, though no one has ever promised him this.

Jim has only been with the company for 3 years, but in that time his reviews have been spectacular. He's a real go-getter, putting all of his energy into raising the standards of the department.

Now, the position of department head comes up, and the two principle contenders are Jack and Jim. No matter which one of them gets it, the other one will have a valid reason to believe it is not fair.

So, in this instance, how do you regulate fair?
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

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