Wrongfull termination and Religious discrimination

[yellowmxwheels]

If you have an alleged violation of the contract, you are supposed to do what you are told, then file a grievance. Had you contacted your union rep, you would have known this. Had you exercised your Weingarten rights and union protections, you probably would still have a job.

That's the thing, I couldn't come into work the day they scheduled me. I talked to a union rep about it and he said "you told them and they wouldn't change it?" I said no and he said "If they fire you we will get your job back because they are in clear violation of the contract" "they will have to reimburse you for time missed."
no union rep was available at the time of the firing (fri night). All calls since have gone to voicemail. Not sure if he's on vacation or where he is at.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

So what did your Business Agent say when you called the union hall?

 

[yellowmxwheels]

So what did your Business Agent say when you called the union hall?

I haven't heard back yet. I'm guessing with it being new years they probably aren't working.
But I did get a call from a co worker saying that most of my regulars came in tonight asking where I was because they hadn't seen me. She told them what happend and they had her call management to give them their players cards. (they are mvp players that spend 50k a month to maintain a mvp card) Apparently they told them they made a mistake by letting me go and that they would now be frequenting a competing casino in the area. Co worker said they walked right out. That's a minimum of 150k a month walking out the door.
You might be asking yourself what I did at the casino. I was a Bartender. Don't laugh I was averaging $1300 a week just in tips and I only worked Fri, Sat and Sun.
I was there for over 7 years so I really got to know these people. I have their phone numbers and they have mine. They needed seats for fight night, I saved them seats. I did more for them than their host.
I'm just a little bummed to not be there.

 

[commentator]

I strongly suggest that when filing a union grievance, and when appealing your unemployment benefits, and in all ways trying to pursue this further, you leave out the issue of the "beard for religious reasons" as much as you can. It sounds as though your employer was trying to get rid of you. That you had a beard was one of the things they tried to use. Without asking, they figured you definitely belonged to the first church of "You can't tell me what to do!" and you'd fight them on this beard issue and be fired for it. Then they decided to try another tack, which is going to be something fought through with the union, it sounds like. Age discrimination is not going to be an issue. Being a high earner or a long term employee isn't a protected category.

But it's sounding less and less like discrimination on religious grounds is going to be a viable argument for you. They want rid of you. You must realize that if you are reinstated, they'll keep trying, will be watching you very closely for something they can legitimately use to terminate you. Because for some reason, they want to, and that's pretty much legal. You have the right to quit, the right to look for other jobs even while still working with them. That's the best way to leave a situation such as you describe here.

If it does come down to your being reinstated with pay by your union's intervention, you will have to pay back any unemployment benefits you have received in the interim, but certainly keep that going while you are working with the union on this issue. You need the quick income provided by unemployment benefits IF they are approved.

 

[cbg]

If you are a bartender, it's not impossible that your employer could make a half-way decent case for their being a health reason NOT to grant you the religious exception you asked for. BTW, this was never a case of religious discrimination and always a potential case of failure to accommodate religion, which is not quite the same thing. I have to agree that this is sounding more and more like your employer looking for a way to get rid of you but the important thing to realize is that IT IS NOT INHERENTLY ILLEGAL TO TRY TO FORCE AN EMPLOYEE OUT.

If that is what is going on, it is still true that your employer chose some very poor ways of going about it and they may end up losing the battle THIS TIME. But commentator is right on point when she says the handwriting is on the wall and even if you do end up being rehired, you will be on borrowed time. There are plenty of legal ways to force an employee out if an employer really wants him out and even if the union forces them to take you back, that doesn't make you bulletproof. They could lose the battle this time but a few months later win the war.

I'm not saying don't fight it. That's entirely up to you and I think you have a decent chance of winning at least on the union grounds, although the potential religious claim is weakening as we speak. But whether you do or don't fight them this time, my advice as a long time HR professional is to keep your resume up to date and start spreading it around.

 

[ecmst12]

If you are good at what you do, you should have no problem getting another job elsewhere and you might just be better off doing so.