Would I have a case?

[Photojunkie90]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois


Greetings,
This is more of a hypothetical possibility out of something I'm anticipating, but I'll present my case in as much detail as I can and I'd would like to know if I could make a case out of it.

I currently work in a retail store in Illinois, our manager for the past week has been extremely hostile towards many of the employees and increasingly towards me. Recently a loss prevention mentioned to her that two of our dock doors did not have pad locks, I've mentioned multiple times prior about this on going issue and nothing was done. She sent a extremely nasty email to I, and other members of management saying all of us must be in her office at 3pm Saturday. I responded to her saying that my scheduled shifts are between 5AM to 1PM and I'd be willing to stay a little after my shift to discuses the situation. She never responded back to me but read my email, I will see her Saturday and tell her again that I'd be fine staying a little afterwards to discuss it but I'm not driving back home and drive back just to receive a stern talking to about an issue I've brought up before. I'm an hourly paid employee as well, not salary so I would most likely not even be paid for it. And the worst case scenario I feel like she would use this as a means of terminating me because she honestly seems to be on a power trip not to mention down right rude towards everyone.

Which comes to my question would I actually have a case if i was fired for this reason? I am currently just asking as a hypothetical because well its not Saturday yet but I feel it to be a strong possibility with how hostile the environment feels. But I would like to be prepared for the worst case scenario

Thank you in advance.

 

[justalayman]

you would have a case of needing to file for unemployment but that's it and that may be out the window as well. Insubordination is considered to be fired for cause which makes unemployment more likely to be denied.

 

[Photojunkie90]

you would have a case of needing to file for unemployment but that's it and that may be out the window as well. Insubordination is considered to be fired for cause which makes unemployment more likely to be denied.

Thank you for the response.
I guess I'll just have to bite the bullet on this one.

 

[cbg]

FYI, the term, Hostile work environment, has a very specific meaning in employment law, and this is not it.

If the boss says you come in at 3:00 pm Saturday, then you come in at 3:00 pm Saturday. The employer decides when you work, not you.

 

[commentator]

Refuse to show up for, or be late for a scheduled meeting with your supervisor, and even if it was just planned for a "stern talking to" meeting, you will find yourself fired. And then you go to file for unemployment benefits and you explain to them how you told her you'd be willing to stay a little late after your SCHEDULED shift but you're certainly not going to drive back in for this yada yada yada......She does have the right to fire you. And she can very legally be very rude to you in the process. And don't expect to be approved for unemployment benefits when you find yourself terminated.

To fire you and keep you from being approved for unemployment they must show that they had a valid misconduct reason to terminate you, and not showing up for a called meeting with a supervisor is clearly insubordination and misconduct. The employer has the right to set your hours and they decide how they will treat you. If your supervisor slaps you or assaults you, press charges. Beyond that, talking mean to you or giving you bad shifts or failing to schedule you when you want to be scheduled are nothing but work related things they are very much allowed to do to you. There is no whistle blower protection for you because you reported her to management or complained about something that she later got into trouble for, so now she's mad at you personally, and no "hostile work environment" case here at all, the boss being hostile to you just because isn't what that is.

 

[kimsuc]

One thing I would touch on is the statement that if you do attend the meeting you would probably not be paid for it. That is not OK. You state that you are a non-exempt employee. When you are called in for meetings, etc. that time should be paid. If you have had situations in the past where you have attended meetings, trainings, etc. and the time has not been paid, you should have been. If the supervisor is having non-exempt hourly employees come in for work related meetings and not paying them, the supervisor has more problems than some missing locks.

 

[eerelations]

But OP has to actually do something (in this case, attend a meeting) and not get paid for it, in order for him to have a valid wage claim. Refusing to attend a meeting that he thinks he might not get paid for does not make for a valid wage claim and it's insubordination.

 

[cbg]

If he attends the meeting and does not get paid for it (assuming he's non-exempt) he has legal recourse, and he cannot be fired for exercising that recourse.

But if he does not attend the meeting because he thinks he won't get paid for it, he can be fired and he will have no recourse other than to hope for unemployment.

 

[kimsuc]

But OP has to actually do something (in this case, attend a meeting) and not get paid for it, in order for him to have a valid wage claim. Refusing to attend a meeting that he thinks he might not get paid for does not make for a valid wage claim and it's insubordination.

Exactly - that is why I stipulated that if the OP has attended meetings in the past and has not been paid for that time, it should have been paid.